Tearing Me Apart
by GemNika
Summary: She hadn't meant to fall for him, but it happened. And now all Lucy can do is watch from the sidelines as everyone moves on with life, pining for the man who was once the closest person to her. Three-shot; request by KatieBoom. (Rated M for a reason, sort of) [Complete]
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So, this was a request from** _ **KatieBoom**_ **. It grew a mind of its own and changed again and again as I continued writing, but the original request served as the groundwork. (Prompt at the bottom).**

 **Also, huge thanks to my Triplets,** _ **leoslady4ever**_ **and** _ **LittlePrincessNana**_ **, for helping me get through this.**

 **NaNoWriMo is nearly done, but this got so long that I didn't get to complete it before I had to pause for November. So, I decided to break it into a two-shot. I'll be finishing this up sometime in the beginning of December, since I've been fighting to** _ **not**_ **work on it all month.**

 **I'll just drop this off here.**

* * *

Lucy hadn't realized that she'd fallen in love with him until it was too late. She and Cobra had become the best of friends in a matter of minutes after he'd joined the guild. He'd laughed at some snide joke she'd made in her head while they sat a few stools away from each other at the bar, and that was that. She'd known he heard it.

And for months, they'd spent time together, watching people interact. They made up stupid conversations that others were having and laughed quietly to themselves, and it was even funnier when he added what their souls were allegedly saying. They both ignored the fact that he could actually hear what their targets were talking about.

She went to him when she needed someone to talk to. Even though Cobra was an asshole about her problems and told her to stop talking his ear off, he still sat and listened. And he gave Lucy advice that she was sure no one else would have the balls to say to her face. He even stopped at the store and bought her favorite cookies to dip in some almond milk when he heard that she was having a horrible day, before she'd even gotten dressed and left her apartment, then showed up and forced her to sit on the couch and eat the whole thing - like she really wanted to do.

He understood her.

But that all went up in flames the moment Lucy walked into the guild to see him hugging Kinana and placing a soft kiss on the barmaid's cheek. Then another on her lips.

A round of cheers went through the guild as people congratulated the new couple on getting together.

And Lucy cried inside while smiling and making her way toward her team's table. She'd woken up that morning with a smile on her face and the realization that the man who'd become her best friend was something more than that to her. But this was a happy time for Cobra and Kinana. She wasn't going to ruin their moment.

"Luce," Natsu said with a wide grin. "Wanna take a job? We found this one with lots of money!"

"And fish!" Happy shouted.

"That sounds wonderful," Lucy nodded. His overly warm arm wrapped around her shoulders and she was pulled into his chest. She didn't care right then that Natsu was sweaty. _'I'm happy for them. That's all I can let myself be. Move on, Lucy… Just move on.'_

Across the guild, Cobra's lips turned down into a small frown and his gaze settled on the blonde. She looked happy, but the whispered thought had him thinking otherwise.

Natsu's green gaze locked onto him. _"She'll be alright. Focus on Kinana, and I'll take care of Luce."_

Cobra really wasn't sure what Natsu meant, but he knew from experience that the Fire Slayer was oddly in tune with Lucy in ways that not even his own Soul Listening magic could mimic. So, as the purple-haired woman sat down beside him with a plate of bacon and eggs laced with arsenic, he gave Natsu a short nod and returned his attention to Kinana.

* * *

When one mission for Team Natsu turned into two and then three, back to back, Cobra found himself wondering just what the hell was going on. He hadn't seen Lucy in two months. She didn't even come into the guild, and instead repacked her bags and waited at the train station for Natsu or Gray or Erza to pick out a new mission.

Of course, when Erza was the one in the guild, she commented on how much Lucy had grown recently in her magic. And he was always burrowing into one of their souls to listen in on memories of how she was doing.

By the third month in a row that Lucy hadn't been through the front doors of Fairy Tail, Cobra had a pretty good idea of why she was staying away. He'd thought back on what he'd heard the day Kinana had agreed to let the guild know they were a couple. Then to all the times he'd been around Lucy and heard only bare wisps of thoughts concerning the blonde and himself in a more romantic sense.

Hell, Cobra had thought Lucy wanted that for a period of time, and he'd been willing to try it out. But then Kinana had told him she loved him, and he'd chosen the woman he really wanted. And Lucy hadn't known a thing about any of it.

He'd kept it from the blonde to spare her feelings, he supposed. Or maybe it was just that she'd never really known about those errant thoughts, and he'd thought better to leave it alone. Best not to stir the pot. Regardless of what his reasoning had been, Cobra found that the longer he thought on why he hadn't told Lucy about being with Kinana for four months before the guild found out, it was all just excuses.

Lucy was his best friend, aside from the barmaid. They talked about everything. Well, she talked, and he mostly just listened.

"I haven't seen Lucy in a while," Kinana said while setting a glass of juice down for the Poison Slayer. "Cobra, have you talked to her lately?"

"Nope," he sighed. "She's been on jobs a lot though."

Kinana nodded and a soft frown settled on her lips. "Well, if you see her…"

"I'll tell her," he nodded with a small smile. Kinana, ever the loving woman, had told him when they'd started dating in private that she didn't want him spending less time with Lucy. She understood that he had his own friends, and she trusted the blonde just as she trusted him. It didn't matter to her that Lucy was a woman, because Cobra knew the meaning of loyalty. There was no doubt in either of their minds about that.

The Poison Slayer watched as she walked back to the bar, and his eye strayed over to the request board. Team Natsu had been gone for way too long. He was even starting to miss the loud, obnoxious fights that Natsu and Gray got into. How Erza moaned and fantasized about cake while eating it. Happy constantly teasing everyone.

And he missed Lucy.

Part of him hated that being with Kinana had taken the blonde away from him for a short period of time, but he understood it a little bit. If she needed to have some distance, to sort herself out, then he could give her that.

He just hoped she got through this soon, because he really was looking forward to sitting down and watching horror movies with her again. Eating far too much sugar, even for him. Rubbing the blonde's feet even though she never asked for it, because he knew she was in pain.

Damnit, he just wanted his fucking friend back.

* * *

Cobra knew the saying, "Be careful what you wish for." He'd said it a number of times while torturing people, and using the pleas from their souls against them.

He'd been begging the universe to bring Lucy back to the guild, but he hadn't meant like this. Not unconscious and bleeding out with Gajeel holding her as he ran inside the guild, yelling that she'd been dropped on his property. Not with the scent of acid clinging to her skin and poison running through her veins. Not skinnier than normal and suffering from dehydration.

"Cobra!" Kinana hissed. "They need you!"

He didn't need more prompting than that. He didn't even know why he was frozen in place. Why his heart was pounding in his chest.

The Poison Slayer scrambled across the guild and vaulted up the stairs two at a time to get to the infirmary where Gajeel had taken the blonde. He didn't hear Kinana rushing to the bar and grabbing the lacrima to call her team. And he didn't hear Erza answer and break down in tears when she was told that Lucy had been found. No one thought to ask why the guild hadn't been informed of her capture in the first place.

Instead, he was solely focused on rushing into the infirmary and coming to a screeching halt by the bed.

"Where's Wendy?"

"With Team Natsu," Gajeel growled.

"Porlyusica?" Cobra asked.

"She won't be here in time. Bunny girl needs some-"

"Gajeel, don't move a fucking muscle," Cobra snarled. "You're helping me."

"Helping you _what_? I'm not a damn doctor and neither are you!"

Cobra shook his head and shrugged his coat off, then rolled up his sleeves. "Get me a bowl or a bucket or something."

"For what?"

"Just fucking do it!" he roared. Cobra lowered his head to the bleeding wound where Lucy's right arm used to be. His lips locked around the torn flesh at her shoulder and he carefully started to suck.

"That's fucking gross."

Cobra lifted his head while reaching for the bowl in Gajeel's hands, then spit out a mouthful of dark purple fluid. "Get me another one," he coughed.

Gajeel shuddered as Cobra put his lips back on Lucy's shoulder, watching for a moment as the Poison Slayer started to suck once again. He grabbed another bowl, this one larger than the last, and gagged when Cobra spit another mouthful of fluid into it. Then another. "Can't you just eat it?"

Cobra shook his head after wiping his lips on the back of his hand. "There's more than just poison," he said before lowering his lips again. The fact that Lucy wasn't completely dead was just a damn miracle, as far as he was concerned. Because while the poison running through her was quite the snack for him, it was deadly. And he knew he wouldn't be tasting anything for weeks while his mouth healed from the faint traces of acid in the poison itself.

They needed Wendy. And they needed her right fucking then. Porlyusica could only do so much, even if she did show up. She wasn't a mage. The little Air Slayer was the only one who could counteract the damage that Lucy's organs had gone through.

But even she couldn't regrow the arm that Lucy had lost. And Wendy wouldn't be able to get rid of the already scarring flesh in the shape of the blonde's gate keys that littered her stomach.

"Gajeel," Cobra said quietly. "Have someone call up Mest. He can teleport Wendy here, and-"

"I'm here!" Wendy shouted just as she and the rest of Team Natsu appeared in the middle of the room with a panting Mest at their side. She pushed past everyone and rushed to the blonde's bed, her eyes hardening at the sight of Lucy's battered body.

"Got the poison out," Cobra said after spitting out the last mouthful. "Wendy…"

"I've got this, Cobra," she growled. Her hands lit up and hovered over Lucy's body, and she poured more and more magic into the blonde.

He looked down at the Celestial mage's dulled golden hair and felt Natsu come to stand beside him. "Someone has to pay for hurting Luce," Natsu growled.

Cobra's hands clenched into fists before he grabbed Natsu by the arm and dragged him into the hallway. The Fire Slayer didn't even fight him on it, even as he was spun and shoved against the wall. "Tell me everything that happened before you lost her."

"What do you think you're gonna do, Cobra?" Natsu asked. "We don't know where those guys came from, or what they were planning."

"No," Cobra chuckled darkly. "But if you think about what they looked like, their names, _anything_ … I'll find them and make them pay."

"You can't kill them," Natsu said. "You know you can't."

"Lucy deserves-"

"I know," Natsu spat. "But you'll go to prison again. Do you really think she'd want you locked up because of her?"

"That's not important."

"It is," Natsu said softly. His gaze lifted to lock onto Cobra's burning indigo eye. "You know it is. Especially to her. She's always telling me to think before I act, and I know that she'd be telling you the same thing if she could right now."

"Well, she can just hate me forever then," Cobra snarled. "I'm gonna find them and…"

"And bring them to the Rune Knights," Makarov said as he came to stand between the two Slayers. "Should they get injured in the fight before the Rune Knights arrive… Well, as long as they're alive, that's all that matters."

Cobra paused and looked down at the ancient man, a slow, wicked grin curling his lips. "I knew I liked the way you think, old man."

Makarov didn't smile though. His magic swelled until it surrounded his small body in a golden aura. "Yes, now Natsu… Tell Cobra everything you know. And make sure you let those monsters feel the wrath of Fairy Tail when you find them."

Cobra turned his attention back to the Fire Slayer, listening intently as he told the story of what happened before Lucy was captured with memories alone. There was no need for words, not when Cobra could get a much better picture of everything that had happened through Natsu's soul. Once he was done, the Poison Slayer nodded and made his way down the stairs into the main hall. He kissed Kinana on the cheek without a word and made for the door, motioning for Natsu to follow him.

They were getting payback for Lucy. Each person who'd hurt her was going to feel not just the wrath of Fairy Tail, but of Dokuryuu no Cobra. The dormant part of the Poison Dragon Slayer that stayed hidden now that he was in a light guild. Even if he couldn't kill them, he was going to make sure they were never the same long before they were shipped off to the prison.

* * *

It killed him inside when he walked into the infirmary and heard the wailing in Lucy's soul as she struggled to bring a plastic fork to her lips. How it only grew as Erza leaned forward and took the utensil to feed the blonde.

' _I'm not useless… I can do this! Erza, just let me do it myself!'_

Cobra walked over and placed a hand on the Requip mage's shoulder, then nodded toward the door. "Jellal's here," he whispered. "He wants to talk to you."

"Oh, but Lucy-"

"Can manage for herself," he chuckled. "I'll sit with her." He could hear how she was ready to argue the point, the indecision in her soul for wanting to be a friend to Lucy while also wanting to see Jellal. "Go on, Titania."

Erza turned toward Lucy again, her brows furrowing as the blonde tried to lift her paper cup of water. She reached forward to steady Lucy's hand as it started to shake. Cobra stopped her with a tightened grip on her shoulder, and she let out a slow breath as her friend finally brought the cup to her lips and took a small sip. "Lucy, I'll be right downstairs," she said softly while standing.

The blonde didn't say anything in return, and kept her eyes on the tray over her lap as Cobra took Erza's seat on the edge of the bed. He stayed silent though, and she grabbed the fork again and speared it through her eggs, then slowly lifted it to her lips.

"It's good to see you awake," he said after she took a bite of food. He hated that she didn't look at him. "I've missed you, Bright Eyes."

" _How's Kinana been?"_

"Good," he said. "Worried about you, though."

" _I'm fine. Or… I will be."_ Lucy took another bite of food, but her arm was starting to get tired and her hand shook even more. Cobra still didn't try to help her, even when she stabbed herself in the cheek with the plastic fork she'd been given.

"You know we can still be friends, right?" he whispered. "Just because I'm with her, doesn't mean I have to stop spending time with you."

" _It's not right to spend time with another woman when you're in a relationship, Cobra."_

He sighed as Lucy dropped the fork and the little bits of egg fell onto her chest and lap. Instead of trying to clean her up, he waited as her quaking fingers clumsily wrapped around a napkin.

' _So stupid… I know how to eat. Why can't my body just do this like it's supposed to?'_

"Nerve damage," he said as she tried to clean up the mess she'd made. "Wendy says-"

"I… kn-know," Lucy said slowly. It was the first time she'd tried to speak aloud around someone else since waking up and finding that her voice didn't work. Things were coming back to her, but she had to take baby steps to regain full mobility. Sometimes, even words came out wrong, and she could hear it. So she just practiced when she was alone. At least her mind hadn't been affected by the damage her body had taken.

But she knew that she would only get better with therapy. Physical therapy for her limbs, more for when she had a prosthetic arm made - although the blonde didn't know how she was going to pay for it.

She just wanted to be done with it all.

Cobra stayed silent as Lucy struggled to get the last bit of egg onto the napkin. He wasn't going to help her unless she asked. He couldn't. Because he knew better than anyone that Lucy just wanted to prove to herself that she wasn't an invalid. She could still take care of herself.

And he was more than thankful that the bastards who'd hurt her like this, who had tried to torture her for information about Fairy Tail, were now paralyzed from much more severe nerve damage. Poisoning and burns so extensive that they'd nearly died before the Rune Knights got custody of them.

"And woman or not," he said once Lucy picked the fork back up and started eating again, as though there hadn't been a five-minute lull in their conversation, "You're still my best friend. I miss you."

" _And I'm just being respectful of your relationship."_

"Kinana trusts you," he said. "She knows we're just friends."

He had to force himself not to react when Lucy's soul went quiet. Had she learned how to block him? To stifle the song in her soul so he couldn't hear what she was really thinking?

Lucy sighed in resignation as she dropped her almost empty cup and water splashed down onto her chest. Still, Cobra didn't try to help her. And she knew why. She appreciated that he was letting her do this, even though she was struggling.

"Cobra…"

"Yeah?"

"C-Could you… ge' Mira… P-P… P… Please?"

"You don't want me to help?" he whispered.

Lucy shook her head, keeping her eyes averted from the mess on her shirt and the Poison Slayer at her side. "Mira."

Cobra nodded slowly and stood from the bed. "Mmkay," he said. "Do you need anything else? I'll have her bring it up for you." Lucy's head shook again. He turned and started for the door, and had to force his feet to keep moving when he smelled the salt from her tears as she tried to blink them away. He wasn't able to hear what her soul was screaming as soon as he closed the door.

' _I miss you too, Cobra… But it hurts… I can't ruin his happiness…'_

* * *

"Natsu, can you do me a favor?" Cobra asked as he watched Lucy carefully making her way down the stairs from the infirmary with Wendy by her side. She was almost completely healed now, after spending months going through physical therapy. He hadn't tried to visit her again after that first day. Every time he heard her soul whispering his name in her sleep, he was tempted, but then he'd smell tears. He couldn't hurt her by being so close.

"What's up?"

He knew he had the Fire Slayer's full attention. He never asked anyone for favors, but this was too important. "If she ever starts to think I don't care… Could you… just…"

Natsu patted the maroon-haired mage on the arm and gave him a small smile. "She knows you care, Cobra."

"Natsu, it's not that simple."

"Don't worry," he chuckled. "Luce won't forget that you're still her best friend. No matter what."

Cobra shook his head as the firebreather walked away to meet Lucy at the bottom of the steps. Even from this distance, he could see the pain in her eyes that not many noticed as she saw Kinana walk around with a tray of food. He'd been the one to do this to her, and it stung more than he cared to admit that he couldn't find a way to make it right.

Still, Cobra couldn't dwell on it. It would only drive him crazy. Maybe one day Lucy would be comfortable spending time with him again. That was all he could hope for.

* * *

' _I hate this… But they're so happy together…'_

Lucy took a sip of her eggnog and leaned against the bar, forcing a smile to her lips while watching everyone in the guild mingling and opening presents.

No matter what she did, her eyes strayed to the Poison Slayer and his fiancée of three months.

' _Oh my god, Mira had better get a picture of them under the mistletoe! Oh, Kinana's gonna love that one for her scrapbook… I hate this…'_

She was torn on how to feel. On the one hand, she was so happy for Cobra and Kinana, for the happiness they'd found with one another. Her guild mates were just too adorable together to put into words. He was so caring toward the barmaid, so thoughtful. She hadn't missed the times he came back from a mission and kissed Kinana on the cheek while discreetly handing her a small, wrapped present.

She'd seen the love they had for each other shining in their eyes every time they were together.

She'd seen his arms around Kinana, and wished that it was her instead. Because, on the other hand, Lucy hated that it wasn't her in Kinana's place.

And she hated even more just how bitter it made her feel, knowing that the one man she wanted, she could never have. There was no way Lucy would try and steal him away from Kinana. That just wasn't the type of person she was. And the blonde already knew that, if she were to throw her morals away and try it anyway, Cobra would turn her down.

But she missed him so much. She missed the closeness they'd had before, and just having someone to talk to.

"How's the arm treating you, Lucy?"

The blonde turned and smiled a little more easily as Gildarts came to sit by her side. "Pretty good," she said. "Thanks for giving me the name of the guy you went to."

"Well, Marty did some great work on my arm and leg," he chuckled, lifting his metal arm and rotating his wrist. "And you can always go back to him for repairs when you need it." Lucy nodded and took another sip of her drink while looking across the guild again.

"You're pregnant?!" Cobra shouted. Kinana laughed as the Poison Slayer wrapped his arms around her. "I'm gonna be a dad!"

"Well that's some great news," Gildarts chuckled. The soft scrape of the stool next to him on the floor drew his attention, and he watched curiously as Lucy made her way through the guild toward the door.

She paused at Cobra and Kinana's table, smiling happily down at the two.

"Bright Eyes, I-I'm… I'm gonna…"

"You're gonna be a great dad," Lucy giggled. She moved around the table and gave Kinana a gentle hug. "Let's hope that little one takes after you, huh?" she whispered to the barmaid. "The world can't take more than one of _this guy_."

"F-Fuck you," Cobra sniffled. With his arms still around Kinana, Lucy was so close to him now. Closer than she'd been in the last year alone. His arm hesitantly shifted to wind around the blonde as well, and she gifted him with a tender smile.

" _I'm so happy for you, Cobra."_

And he could hear it, deep down in her soul, that she truly was happy for him.

What the Poison Slayer didn't hear, the part that Lucy had kept hidden, was the bitter rage burning in her gut and the tears that threatened to well on her lashes. She carefully pulled away while ruffling Cobra's hair, just like she always used to do as a way to aggravate him, then walked toward the doors of the guild.

Only Gildarts noticed how the blonde's shoulders slumped just before the doors completely closed behind her as she walked out into the blustery Christmas snow. "Wonder what that's about," he muttered to himself.

"Who's ready for a free round of drinks?" Mira shouted. "Congrats to the happy couple!"

As the night continued, everyone simply let themselves enjoy the warm atmosphere in the guild, unaware of the blonde whose tears soaked into her pillow, alone in her apartment.

* * *

Two miscarriages and three children. Seven years of marriage. Buying a house. Raising a family.

Lucy watched as the man who was once her closest friend moved on with his life. He and Kinana had ups and downs, as all couples did. They fought and made up. The first two pregnancies ended prematurely, with no one understanding just why she'd lost the babies. Both times, Cobra had been the first one to know their little souls were disappearing.

He was a mess the third time Kinana got pregnant, always worrying that she was going to lose the baby. A healthy little boy was born at forty-one weeks, chubby and full of smiles.

Then they had twin daughters, both identical to Cobra in every way.

And Lucy had been right. He was a great father. She'd watched from a distance as Cobra cared for each of his children, fed and burped them, changed diapers. He read them stories and rocked them to sleep, even in the bustling guild.

Everyone seemed to be moving on without her. Natsu and Lisanna finally got together. Juvia gave up on Gray, after seeing a psychologist for the unhealthy obsession she had with him. Mira and Laxus just had their second daughter a few months prior. Gajeel publicly turned Levy down and explained that he was gay. He was in a very committed relationship with Rogue, and the two were planning on getting married soon.

And still, Lucy couldn't move on. Even though she reminded herself every morning that there was nothing to do about her feelings for Cobra, and that the Poison Slayer was with someone else, her heart didn't want to listen.

So she continued keeping her distance from him. They interacted only when it was entirely appropriate, in her eyes, only when Kinana was also there. Only on special occasions.

And he seemed to have given up on being the friend she'd once had. He didn't try to force her to talk to him like he would have done years ago. He didn't pin her to the couch and tickle her until she couldn't breathe.

She let out a quiet sigh and took a sip of the smoothie Mira gave her almost ten minutes prior. She needed to move on. Somehow, she'd find a way to do that. And Cobra could remain happy with his wife and family. She wasn't going to come between them. Ever.

"Lucy," Mira sighed while leaning her elbows on the bar. "When are you going to find a man so you can give me babies to spoil?"

"Never," Lucy answered with a scowl. It was always the same with Mira. For years, she'd been fighting to get the blonde to just admit that she needed help in finding a man. And no matter how many times or how many different ways she said it, Mira just never gave up.

"Come on," she laughed. "You don't even try to get yourself out there."

The blonde rolled her eyes and took another sip of her smoothie. "There's no point, Mira," she said. "I'm going to die alone."

"You don't have to. If you'd just let me set you up with someone."

"Drop it."

"But Lucy…"

"Mira, please," she groaned. "Just drop it, okay? I don't want you to set me up with anyone. And I don't need a man or babies or a happy family that would make me smile every single day, to feel fulfilled. I can do that on my own, without anyone else."

A sly smile curved the barmaid's lips as Lucy took another sip of her drink. "Well, let's say I set you up with someone anyway," she said slowly.

"I'd say I'm not interested in anyone but one person," Lucy answered. She winced as the next sip of her smoothie went right to her head, sending an icy shot through her brain.

"Oh, so you _are_ interested in someone?" Mira asked, leaning forward slightly.

"Well, yeah."

"Who?"

"I…" Lucy's brow furrowed and she blinked repeatedly to clear up the slight blurriness in her vision. "I'm not telling. There's no point anyway, since he'll never care about me."

"Aw, Lucy, that's just not true," Mira said while placing a gentle hand on the blonde's. She winked at Cana and watched as the drunk scooted closer. "Just tell me who he is, and I'll _make_ him care. Then you can have all the babies."

"I don't…" Lucy went to take another sip of her smoothie, sighing as the cool drink slid down her throat. "Drop it, okay?"

"Aw, c'mon Lucy," Cana laughed. "We're all friends here."

"And if I say who I love, then everyone will hate me," Lucy muttered. "That's why I've kept it a secret this whole time."

"We won't hate you," Mira said. "So… tell us who - wait did you say you love someone?!"

"She did!" Cana laughed. "Oh, you have to tell us now!"

"No," Lucy whispered, her cheeks flaming.

"Do it," Mira said.

"Who do you love?"

"Cobra!" Lucy shouted, slamming her metallic hand down on the bar and sending her half-finished smoothie splashing across the wooden top. "I love Cobra, okay?! And I've loved him for years, but I can't do anything about it since-"

The blonde froze as a tanned, familiar hand clamped over her lips. The same chest she remembered from so long ago pressed against her back as he leaned forward to smell the liquid that had started dripping onto the floor.

"Really, Mira?" he growled, sending the suddenly uncomfortable barmaid a murderous glare. "You couldn't just leave her alone. You just _had_ to spike her drink with a damn _truth serum_ so you can set everyone up and make the world a happy-go-lucky fucking place?"

Mira's gaze shot back to Lucy whose hazy eyes were clearing, and quickly filling with tears. "What do you mean, you love Cobra?"

The Poison Slayer grunted when Lucy elbowed him in the side and dashed out of the guild like the fires of hell were licking at her heels. His head turned as he watched the doors slam behind her, and the only thing that kept him from following was the sight of Kinana holding their son's hand as she came toward the bar.

"You knew," Kinana said. It wasn't a question. The saddened look on her husband's face said it all. And all she could wonder was why he'd never told her about it.

"Since before she lost her arm," he said softly. "And there was nothing to tell." Cobra turned a heated glare toward Mira once again. "Because Lucy had enough fucking respect for me and Kinana to keep her feelings to herself."

"That's why she stopped spending time with you," Kinana whispered.

"It was too hard for her," he nodded.

"But she still…" Mira's face fell while looking toward the doors, passing the stunned faces of their guild mates. "But you're married… Y-You have a family together!"

"She knows that," Cobra growled. "And thanks to you, everyone else knows about the one thing she never told anybody!"

"Sounds like you wanted to just keep it a secret," Cana slurred. "Liked the extra attention?"

"Shut up, Lush," he spat.

"Why should I?"

"Because you don't know what you're fucking talking about! Lucy was my friend, nothing more!"

Mira shook her head and stared at the pooling liquid on the bar. "Oh, what have I done…"

"You just dragged the sweetest person in the guild through a mountain of shit," Cobra snarled. " _That's_ what you fucking did. Congratulations, Mira."

Everyone watched as Cobra stormed over to the table where Gajeel and Rogue were watching his two youngest daughters, then plopped down in a seat. Kinana shook her head and glanced toward Mira. "I think you owe Lucy an apology, Mira," she said softly. "That wasn't right."

"I-I know…"

"What she feels for someone should be her business, and hers alone."

"You seem oddly fine with this," Cana frowned. "What gives?"

Kinana simply smiled while looking toward her husband as he played peek-a-boo with their daughters. "I always had a feeling that Lucy felt that way about him," she said. "But Erik told me a long time ago that she said… It wasn't right for him to spend time with another woman if he was in a relationship. I knew, then and there, she wouldn't do anything to take him away from me."

All that Kinana wished for was that she'd been the same type of person as Lucy. That she hadn't jumped on the opportunity to date Cobra when they were younger, before the blonde had realized her feelings for him. Maybe then it would be Lucy who had the man of her dreams, and a family. Someone to love her every night.

 _'Lucy… I'm so sorry I took him away from you…'_

* * *

Cobra groaned as he finally laid in bed after getting the kids to sleep. The precious little children his wife had given birth to were fucking monsters when it came time to get bathed and ready for bed. Still, his magic had come in handy and he'd managed to get it all done without murdering someone.

He grinned as Kinana set her book down on the nightstand to look at him. "They're asleep," he whispered. "Snug as little bugs in rugs."

She nodded, worrying her lower lip between her teeth. "Erik, can we talk?"

His arms wrapped around her and he pulled her to his chest. "Of course. What's up, sugarbutt?"

She let out a heavy sigh and buried her head in his chest. Her nose brushed across the white fabric of his shirt while she took in his scent, woodsy with a hint of baby powder nowadays. "About Lucy…"

"... What about her?"

"Do you think you would have been happier with her?"

Cobra frowned and pulled back to look into her jade eyes. "What the hell are you talking about, happier?"

"She loves you."

"So? Kina, I chose _you_."

"All we do is argue lately," she said. "I know people in the guild think we're happy, but… What if…"

He blinked as the quick thought streaked across her mind. "I'm not gonna run out on you and the kids," he scowled. "Kina, that's beyond fucked up. You know me, and-"

"I know," she huffed. "And we wouldn't have been married all this time if you were planning on taking her up on that."

"Then why-"

"Because she _loves_ you, Erik!" Kinana shifted to rest on her elbows with a scowl. "Lucy's been alone all this time because she loves you, and you just brushed it all off!"

"Because I don't love her," he said. "I love you, Kina. I always have. I don't give a shit how she feels about me, because _you're_ the one I want!" He groaned when the twins started crying again. "Great. They're awake."

"You woke them up with all your yelling," she muttered as he rolled out of the bed.

"I wasn't the only one yelling," he spat over his shoulder. "And for the fucking record, I'll remind you that I fucking chose _you_ over her. And I've spent the past almost ten goddamn years loving _you_ , not her. All she'll ever be is my friend, but I even pushed that away to be _with you_. So get off your hormonal fucking horse and deal with it."

Kinana rolled over and pulled the blanket higher as he stormed out of their room. She didn't miss the barely audible, "Cranky bitch," that spilled from him before the door closed.

* * *

Lucy quickly wiped her eyes as heavy footsteps drew closer to where she'd collapsed in a sobbing pile of shame hours earlier, on a little bridge that ran over a gentle brook just on the edge of the forest. Her head turned away when the person paused several steps from her, and Lucy shuffled closer to the edge of the bridge to let them pass.

"... Lucy?"

The softness of his voice surprised her. She'd never heard it quite like that before. Sniffling as quietly as possible, she swiped at her tears again. "Hi, Gildarts. I-I'm sorry if I'm i-in the way."

He chuckled while coming to stand just next to the blonde, then tossed his pack onto the walkway before sitting down at her side. His boots just barely touched the water beneath the bridge. "You're not in the way."

"O-Oh…" The blonde jumped when a heavy weight settled over her shoulders. Something that smelled of the forest and faint traces of cologne. Soft furs brushed across her cheeks as her head turned toward him.

"You looked a little cold," he lied. "Shaking like a leaf." He watched as her metal hand came up just a little too fast to get rid of the obvious tears on her splotchy cheeks, and his own snapped out to catch it just before she could give herself a black eye. "Better be careful…"

Lucy watched as he lowered their hands to the small space between them. Even after so many years of having the prosthetic arm, she still found the fact that she could feel everything normally just a little odd. Even though she could hear metal shifting on metal as his fingers tightened around hers, Lucy felt the warmth from it before anything else.

"Thanks," she muttered.

"No problem," Gildarts said while looking across the water. "I can't tell you how many times I've split a lip with this thing."

"It felt like I was carrying a ton of lead around on my right side for the first year," she replied.

"I walked lopsided."

"Funny," she sniffled. "Me too."

Gildarts chuckled quietly as she pulled his cloak a little tighter around herself. "So, do you feel like telling an old man about what's got you down?"

"You're not that old…"

"Fifty-five is old."

"I'm almost thirty…"

Gildarts frowned while looking over the blonde. It didn't take a genius to understand why her clothing choice had changed all those years ago. He'd seen her at the guild's pool just a month prior and knew from the fleeting glance he'd given her that she still had scars from being tortured - her still-toned stomach and thighs bearing the imprints of all fifteen keys she'd had at the time. Now the blonde wore jeans and silk blouses that covered her. And that day was no different.

Still, he could see, for the first time, that she'd aged. She'd grown up just like everyone else in the guild. The roundness in her face from her teens was gone. Lucy had become a beautiful woman right under his nose, and he hadn't even realized it. It almost made him want to go inside his home and take a look at the photo album he had of Cana, just to see if his daughter had done the same without him even noticing.

"You sure about that?" he whispered. She still didn't look to be anywhere close to thirty.

"Yep."

"Well I'll be damned," he sighed. "Still… What's going on?"

"It's stupid," she muttered.

"I highly doubt that," he chuckled. "If there's one thing I know about you, it's that you're a smart woman."

Her lips barely turned up at the corners at that. He could have so easily called her a "smart girl" instead. "Just something I've been trying to deal with."

"For how long?" he whispered.

"Too long."

The Crash mage's lips pursed in thought, but he didn't let her hand go. "Well, do you want to talk about it?"

"I'm surprised you don't already know," she sighed. "It's probably all over Magnolia right now."

"Nope," he said. "I went in to grab a mission, then decided to head home and leave out at first light." When Lucy shrunk in on herself a little more, he lifted his arm and pulled the blonde into a half hug. She really just looked like she needed it right then, and he was never one for denying beautiful women hugs.

"So clue me in," he said. "What did I miss?"

Lucy took a shaky breath as she soaked up his warmth. "Mira made me drink a truth s-serum," she whispered. "And then… Everyone found out…"

"Found out, what?"

"That I-I… I don't wanna talk about it…"

Gildarts sighed and gave the blonde a gentle squeeze. "That's fine then," he whispered. "Do you wanna come in for some tea?"

"H-Huh?"

"Tea," he grinned. "Hot water, some leaves, maybe sugar if you're into that sort of thing."

"Y-You're not gonna make me tell you?"

"Nope."

"But…" Lucy tilted her head up to look into his eyes, taking in the laugh lines that had wrinkled the outer corners only slightly. And for the first time in years, she had the same feeling Cobra had given her so long ago. As though she had someone really willing to listen to her, if she wanted to talk. Someone who wouldn't push her for answers to things she just couldn't bring herself to say.

"Sometimes there are just things a person wants to keep to themselves," he said. "And after a long day, a half-decent cup of tea is a pretty good way to unwind."

"Half-decent?" Lucy whispered in a small giggle. It wasn't much, but that was a whole lot more than she would have thought herself capable of after the day she'd had.

Gildarts shrugged while pulling his arm from her shoulders. "I can't promise it'll be great," he chuckled while standing. He extended a hand for her and waited as the blonde carefully took it and stood.

"I didn't realize you lived out here," Lucy said as they turned and made their way across the bridge and down a short path just beyond the treeline. She lifted the cloak so it didn't drag on the ground, even though it was slightly worn on the bottom edge. They came up to a small, quaint house hidden beneath the tree canopy, nearly invisible in the dark of night that she hadn't realized had crept up on her.

"It's not much, but it's a roof over my head," Gildarts said as he unlocked the door and ushered her inside. He flipped a switch just inside while closing the door behind him.

Lucy bit her lips while walking across the small living space and carefully set the cloak on a chair as she settled herself at the table. There wasn't a whole lot for her to look at while she waited for him to boil the water, but eventually Gildarts set a fresh cup of tea on the table in front of her and took a seat. The first sip had her grimacing, not from the heat but from the bland, too-old leaves that had been used.

"Sugar is a godsend," he chuckled. The two sat in silence while drinking their tea, and he tried not to watch the blonde as she simply stared down at her cup. Her tears had gone and left puffed cheeks and red-rimmed eyes in their wake. She wasn't smiling like usual, but he really couldn't blame her.

"Hey, Gildarts?"

"Yeah."

Lucy's eyes lifted hesitantly and she tucked a few stray hairs behind her ear. "Is it stupid to be in love with someone even though you can never be together?"

He gave the blonde a sad smile and reached across the table to lay his hand over hers. His calloused fingertips brushed over cool metal knuckles. "I don't think I can answer that one for you, Lucy."

She nodded and looked down at the ground tea leaves sitting in the bottom of her cup. When he squeezed her hand slightly, she looked up and met his gentle gaze.

"But maybe putting some distance between yourself and the situation would help," he said.

"Running away?"

"No. Not running. You do it for yourself, to get away from everything for a little while. That way, you can come back and face whatever it is that happened with a smile instead of tears."

"I don't know where I'd go, though," she sighed. Her whole life was in Magnolia, in the guild. And while she'd entertained the thought earlier in the day of just leaving the guild entirely, Lucy knew she couldn't do that. The past ten years of her life had been spent with Fairy Tail, and she'd never been happier to have such great friends in her life.

Even though Cobra was there, and Kinana and their children, Lucy couldn't run away with her tail between her legs now that everyone knew she loved the Poison Slayer. Maybe taking a mission would help, but she'd have to go into the guild and talk to Mira. She would have to see everyone while trying to stay out of sight.

Just staying holed up in her apartment was another option, but Lucy would still have to take jobs to pay her rent.

"So come with me," Gildarts whispered. Her eyes widened as she stared at him, her lips parting in surprise. "I already signed out on it, but having someone with me would be a nice change of pace."

"You… B-But I'd just hold you back."

"Nah," he laughed. "You've grown a lot over the years, Lucy. I know you'll do a great job."

"But… W-Well…"

"If you say no, I won't be offended," he reassured her. "It's just an offer. From what you told me, Mira kinda started this whole thing, so I'm sure you'd rather not see her right now. So, you can come with me and by the time we get back, maybe you'll feel a little better about whatever happened."

"And… you'd really be okay with that?" she whispered. "Letting me tag along?"

"Sure. Who knows? While we're out there, I might even find a reason or two to tell Makarov to put you in the next S Class run."

Lucy brushed a hand through her hair and looked back down at the table. "I don't need to be an S Class mage," she whispered. It really didn't matter to her that all of the Dragon Slayers had become S Class mages, or Jet, Freed, Gray, and Bickslow. Or Cana and Levy. She was happy for all of them. Then again, when she thought about it, maybe that was part of the reason she felt like she'd just been left behind.

Everyone had grown so much in the last ten years, and Lucy was still just her. Just plain old Lucy. While everyone was off having relationships and families, she was home alone. When the team took more and more difficult missions, she kept up with them just fine, but she was just never put in the running for becoming S Class. She trained with her spirits and on her own, but it never felt like enough.

Gildarts chuckled quietly and shook his head. He knew that look in her eye. While Lucy was saying she didn't need it, she really wanted it deep down. But he wasn't going to push her. This was Lucy's choice.

"Would it be alright if I slept here tonight, then?" Lucy finally asked. "I can ask Virgo to pack my bag."

She was going to do this. Take a job with the great Gildarts Clive. Lucy knew it was really a once in a lifetime opportunity, and something that would probably have Natsu frothing at the mouth and yelling about how he always wanted to go on one. And here he was, offering to do that with her, to help her out of a pinch.

"Sure," he grinned. "Hope you're alright with sharing the bed. I don't exactly have a couch to sleep on."

Lucy blinked and looked across the single room to the bed pushed against the wall. She couldn't even find it in herself to be weirded out. After having Natsu sneak into her bed for years, she was pretty much used to not having a bed to herself. She still missed how he did that before getting together with Lisanna. Just one more sign of how alone she really was.

She sighed and turned back toward the Crash mage, then a small teasing smile curled her lips. "Hope you're alright with me being a cuddler. You don't strike me as having a volcano in you like Natsu."

"No," he laughed. "No volcanoes."

"Then I'll probably get all leechy in my sleep." By the full-bellied laugh that spilled past his lips, Lucy had a feeling he wouldn't mind it all that much if she did cuddle up to him while sleeping. And even though he always gave off that pervert vibe with his jokes, she knew for a fact that Gildarts was a gentleman and a half. He never disrespected a woman, no matter how much he happened to sleep around.

But she was sure this job with one of the strongest members of the guild was going to be just the distraction she needed.

* * *

 **So the prompt for this was:**

 _Cobra and Kinana are in a relationship, and Lucy's looking in and wishing it was her. Based on the song 'Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'' by Journey._

 **Buckets of thanks to** _ **KatieBoom**_ **for making this request. I've had so much fun writing it, and I can't wait to get back to it in December!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This grew a life of its own… And it needs one more chapter to finish it off.** _ **KatieBoom**_ **, you've helped me create a monster!**

 **As celebration of completing NaNoWriMo, I'm posting this early. I just finished it today, and I want to share it with all of you time _meow_!**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

* * *

Cobra was instantly aware of the silence in the guild as soon as he and Kinana made their way through the doors. It had been like that for two weeks, and it was driving him crazy. Between the twins constantly crying, their son being a brat more often than not, and the fights with his wife on a daily basis, he was already on the verge of losing his mind.

And Lucy having disappeared the day that Mira had forced her secret out in the open only made it worse. Even though they'd grown so far apart over the years, he still cared about the blonde.

Mira's usual smile was gone. Natsu was quiet and hadn't challenged anyone to a fight for the past week, after he'd gone to Lucy's apartment to check on her and found the blonde wasn't there, and hadn't been for a while.

If Cobra really listened in, he could find her soul, so he knew she was at least alive. But she was too far away for him to hear what she was thinking about. All he could hear was the soft melody that he knew was Lucy, somewhere in the distance. In some direction he couldn't determine.

"I'll take the kids," he said while pressing a kiss to Kinana's cheek. "Do some relaxing for a bit, okay?"

She nodded and walked over to the bar to chat with Mira, leaving Cobra with the twins and their son. "Hey, Mira."

"Hey, is everything alright?"

She shrugged and propped her chin in her hand. "I'm apparently on _relaxing_ duty," she muttered.

The barmaid smiled as her gaze shifted to where Cobra had taken the kids, to the table that held her own husband and daughters. The "Play Corner" of the guild that Freed had made when everyone started having their own families, and needed a safe place for the babies to be. "It's so sweet of him to do that," she sighed.

"Right," Kinana huffed. "Sweet."

Mira's brows furrowed as she turned back to look at her lavender-haired friend. "Isn't it?"

"Or it's just his way of saying that I'm being an uptight bitch." He'd called her that just that morning while they were eating breakfast.

"Well, I know that Laxus likes to give me time to myself," Mira said carefully. "It's hard being the one taking care of the babies all the time, no matter how much I love it. So, he tells me to just go relax as his way of saying that he's noticed I need a break."

"Since he doesn't want to deal with you nagging at him?" Kinana whispered sadly. "Because that's what he tells me."

Mira set down the rag and glass she was holding and gently pulled Kinana's hands into her grasp. "Have you tried talking to him about the way he talks to you?"

"He doesn't listen…"

Mira gave her a patient smile. "This is Cobra we're talking about, Kinana," she whispered. "He's always listening. And I'm sure he knows what you're feeling right now, and when he says things like that. Maybe that's why he told you to come relax instead of saying it another way."

"I… I don't know," she whispered. "I've been thinking about separating for a bit…" She winced when Mira's eyes widened in horror. "This whole thing with Lucy just kind of pushed it over the edge. He knew and never told me about it, and it just makes me wonder what other secrets he kept from me. And then there's Lucy… She loved him for all this time, but never did anything about it? I mean, what if one of those times he was late in coming back from a mission…"

"Kina."

She froze at the low, controlled growl that sounded from just next to her. She hadn't even thought about the fact that he could hear her. Not just her soul, but what she was saying. But she couldn't move, not even to pull her hands from Mira's.

"We're not separating, and you and I are going to fucking counseling."

"Wh-What?"

Cobra sighed and moved behind her, then wrapped his arms around her waist. His fingers gently trailed over the stretch marks on her hips, hidden beneath her dress. "I said we're going to counseling," he whispered into her hair. "I talked with Sparky about it, and he gave me the card for the guy him and Mira saw."

"Y-You guys…" Kinana's jaw dropped when Mira smiled gently and nodded.

"We're having more issues than just Lucy," Cobra said. "And I can hear the shit you're thinking about all the time, but you never say it to me."

"Is Lucy even really an issue?" Mira frowned. "You and her never…"

"Never," Cobra said. "She was only _ever_ my friend. But I'm glad that she was the one to put the distance between us, now that I'm finding out just how little faith you have in my loyalty, Kina. Otherwise you would have more reasons to think I'm a horrible fucking monster that would cheat on you."

"Erik…"

"Counseling," he whispered again. "I don't want to lose you, beautiful. So we'll work it all out and sort through this shit, okay?"

"But what about Lucy?" Kinana asked.

"No one knows where she is," he said. "She's not in our marriage though. Just me and you."

"But don't you care that she's missing?"

"Sure, because she's nakama. But I have to take care of my family first."

Mira's hands slid back across the bar as Kinana turned in Cobra's arms to bury her nose against his neck. Just as she was about to pick up the rag and glass she'd been cleaning before, the lacrima under the bar started to pulse. She lifted the orb and answered the call, smiling when she saw Gildarts' face. "Hello, Gildarts. Do you need to speak with the Master?"

"Nah," he chuckled. "Well, maybe. I just realized that I've been gone for a couple weeks already and we forgot to let someone know she was coming with me."

Mira's lips pursed in confusion. "We?" Her eyes widened when he turned the lacrima to show a simple inn bedroom, and the blonde Celestial mage curled up in an armchair with a book lying open on her lap, her head canted to one side as she quietly snored. "Lucy… What's she doing there?"

Gildarts turned the lacrima again so his face filled the screen. "I invited her," he said softly. "She seemed like she needed to get away for a bit."

Mira bit her lips while glancing at the Poison Slayer and his wife. It was her fault that Lucy's affections for Cobra had been outed to the whole guild, and the reason that he and Kinana were having more problems than before. Lucy wouldn't have needed to run away from them if she hadn't been so involved in sticking her nose where it didn't belong.

Kinana's head lifted only slightly as she looked at her fellow barmaid. "How long will they be gone?" she whispered. It wasn't that she wanted the blonde gone, but she knew it would be a little easier for her to work through things with Cobra if Lucy wasn't around. And that just made her feel like a horrible friend.

"A few months or so," Gildarts grinned. "Should be long enough for her to work through whatever it is that happened."

"You mean you don't know?" Mira asked, blinking in surprise when he shook his head. "Well-"

"Mira," he scowled, "It's not any of my business. If Lucy wants to tell me what you made her say with that truth serum you slipped in her drink, then she'll tell me on her own time." He paused when the Takeover mage's face fell and her brows drew together. "I understand that you just want to help people, and that's a wonderful thing, Mira. But whatever happened… Whatever she said… You really hurt her."

"I didn't mean to, though," she whispered. "I just wanted to help her find someone, and Lucy never tries to-"

"So?" he chuckled. "Mira, sometimes people are fine without love. It makes things amazing, but it also hurts. And from what I can tell, Lucy's been feeling a whole lot of hurt from loving the wrong person." His eyes cut to the side for a moment and a small smile ticked the corners of his lips. "Just let Master know that Lucy's with me. We're sending a letter to her landlady later on to let her know Lucy will still be paying her rent."

"Is she… Lucy's doing okay, right?" Kinana asked.

"Yeah, she's doing just fine. You guys have fun."

Mira sighed as the connection cut off, staring at the darkened orb with regret swimming in her eyes. "I just can't believe we never knew Lucy was hurting like this…"

"She's good at hiding shit when she wants to," Cobra sighed.

"And you-"

"She learned how to block me years ago," he muttered. "I only heard what she let me hear. Just that she was happy for me and Kina and the kids. Sometimes it would slip that she still felt the same way about me, but Lucy always just pushed the thought away. And she'd remind herself that I was happy, that she couldn't do something to take that away."

Mira sighed while looking across the guild, to all the happy families and new faces that had come in through the years. Any number of them would have thought the same things as the blonde, but she wasn't sure just how many could have put the bitterness of always being second best to the side. How had she managed to do something like that? To just allow happiness for Cobra and Kinana to fill her, and to push her own desires to the background for his sake?

Lucy really had loved him all this time. And there was nothing that anyone could do about how things had turned out.

* * *

"Gildarts, we've been travelling for three months," Lucy sighed while hefting her pack higher on her shoulder. "What exactly _is_ this mission you took?"

"Oh, I still haven't told you, huh?" he laughed. Gildarts reached back to grab Lucy's hand and helped the blonde pull herself up the craggy rocks they were climbing over.

"No," she grunted. The blonde let out a huffing breath as a sharp rock cut into her outer thigh when her foot slipped.

He grinned as the blonde's grip on his hand tightened. "Don't give up on me now, Princess," he laughed.

"Oh, I'll show you a princess," she ground out. Her metal fingers finally found purchase in a small groove in the stone. Then her boots on two small steps that were just barely close enough for her to reach. Once she was done climbing, Lucy collapsed into a panting mess on the flat ledge. The sound of Gildarts rummaging through her bag drew her attention, and she peeked one eye open to look at him.

A roll of bandages, bottle of water, and some tape.

"I… I can do it," she panted. "Just… gimme a minute… to catch my breath." She was sure that the sudden exhaustion in her body was overpowering the pain in her leg from the cut.

He gave her the same smile he always did, gentle and carefree, as he opened the bottle and poured a little water onto the gash in her thigh. "Just relax for a minute. I'll do this."

"No, really… I can…"

"Lucy," he laughed. " _Relax_. We still have some climbing to do before nightfall." His smile stayed in place when she hissed in pain as he carefully cleaned the wound.

The blonde nodded with a roll of her eyes. She wasn't out of shape in any sense of the word, but she was still breathing as though it was the day she'd met Natsu and had been dragged through Hargeon. That was the first time she'd ever really run away from something, namely the Rune Knights.

She'd sworn to herself that she wouldn't run from things anymore. And even though it had been three months since getting away from the guild, she still felt like she was running. Not doing this for herself or to put some distance between herself and Cobra, or Kinana, or Mira, or her problems. Just running away like a little crybaby.

Gildarts put the supplies back in her pack, then reached into his own to pull out two apples and a small bowl. He settled one on Lucy's open hand and grinned down at the blonde when she looked at him again.

Lucy found herself smiling when the apple Gildarts had been holding suddenly broke apart into small, bite-sized cubes, then fell into the bowl. "You must have such an easy time when it comes to cooking stews," she teased while handing him the second apple.

"You've had my cooking," he said. "You tell me."

"This is true," she laughed. The first time Gildarts had been allowed to handle the meals, he'd gotten startled by a deer prancing into the little clearing they were sleeping in for the night. His hand had barely nicked the pot holding their dinner, and he sent all of it flying in every imaginable direction. The pot itself was sitting in a pile of cubes by the time Lucy had returned from the nearby stream.

The second and last time she'd let him cook, Lucy had ended up with food poisoning. Thankfully, everything came right back out of her mouth, because they weren't near a town or toilet. Having explosive diarrhea in the woods really wasn't her cup of tea.

Gildarts placed the bowl on the ground and laid down with his head propped on his hand. "Need some water?"

Lucy nodded and took small sips of the water bottle he'd used to clean her leg off. Once she was done and resting easily back on the ground, the blonde's eyes slid closed. The weather was perfect right then up on the ledge. They would be getting into the colder parts of the mountain range soon enough, maybe in the next day or so, but for the time being she was loving every cool breeze that brushed her ponytail across her bare shoulders.

It was just her and Gildarts, and with the amount of scars he had, Lucy didn't feel so self-conscious about the ones she'd gotten either. It meant she'd pulled out the tank tops and shorts that she'd so long ago abandoned.

"Open up," he whispered.

With another small smile, Lucy's lips parted on autopilot and she was instantly rewarded with a small chunk of apple slipping past her teeth. She sighed as another breeze swept across her glistening skin, barely catching the sound of Gildarts taking a bite for himself. "This is nice," she whispered.

"It is. I definitely don't mind the company."

Lucy peeked up at him just as he brought another piece of food to her lips. "You still haven't told me about the job. If I'm gonna help…" She paused to swallow, then rolled her eyes when he instantly fed her another piece. "I need to know what we're doing."

"Do you remember that 100-year quest I was on?" he asked. "It's the same one. I'm hoping we don't run into Acnologia again."

"What's the job though?"

"We have to find some book buried in a pyramid."

"Then why are we in the mountains?" she laughed. Lucy rolled onto her side and mimicked him, her head resting on her hand. She plucked a piece of apple from the bowl and held it up to his lips, then tossed it into her mouth just when his opened to take it.

Gildarts chuckled quietly as she brought another bite up to his lips. "We have to go through the mountains and find a cave. The right one will lead us underground, where we go through a tunnel out of Fiore and into Bosco. The pyramid is in Desierto, so most of the mission is just travelling to get there."

"And you found Acnologia doing this?" she asked. Lucy did nothing to hide the uneasiness in her voice.

"Purely by accident," he chuckled. The truth was, he'd gotten more than a little turned around a few times in the mountains and wound up only a few miles south of Seven, in the opposite direction of where he was supposed to go. If he could help it, Gildarts would steer clear of those peaks, just in case the dragon was still slumbering over there.

"What's the catch then?" she asked around a mouthful of apple. "It's been around for at least a hundred years for a reason…"

Gildarts hummed as she pushed more fruit between his lips. Lucy's metallic fingers brushed across his facial hair as her hand lowered, a habit the blonde had picked up when she was thinking about something. "The pyramid is a tomb, and it's said to be cursed."

"And you're dragging me into it," she snickered. "You're a cruel man, Gildarts." Her laughter only grew as he bopped a finger on her nose.

"The cruelest and most horrible of men," he grinned.

"I know," she nodded. "I mean, what kind of guy asks a younger woman to be his wingman in a bar while on a mission?"

"Did I do that?"

"Two days ago," she deadpanned. "I slept outside so you and… Marlene, maybe?... could get your freak on. You're welcome, by the way."

He frowned and grabbed Lucy's hand before she could feed him the last of the apples. "I didn't mean to make you-"

"No worries," she said, forcing a small smile. "I'm not going to stop you from enjoying yourself, Gildarts."

"Lucy…" He sighed as she popped the last piece of fruit into her own mouth and sat up, already dusting her hands off. After spending every waking moment around her, he'd gotten to know her a lot better. And still, she hadn't told him a thing about just why she'd wanted to get away from the guild for a while.

"Don't do that smile," he groaned.

"What smile?"

"The one you use when you're upset and you think I won't notice the difference."

She paused, then looked at him over her shoulder with a bright grin. "I don't know what you're talking about, Gildarts."

"That's even worse."

"How so?"

"Now you're lying about being upset and trying to hide it…" He slowly sat up and gently grasped her hand before she could pull away from him any further. "I'm sorry."

Her smile faltered, then melted into a look of deep regret. "Why are you apologizing?" she whispered. "You're a free man, Gildarts. Do your thing."

"Will you tell me?" he asked softly. "What happened in Magnolia?"

"You know I don't want to talk about it."

"Then this really is running away," he countered. "Not facing it, not dealing with it even after three months… You can talk to me, Lucy." It had taken an entire month for the blonde to really smile again, and he didn't want that to disappear. "I know I'm probably not the best role model for relationships, but…"

"It was Cobra," she finally whispered, looking out over the horizon. She couldn't bear to see the shock plastered across his face. " _Is_ Cobra. He was my best friend, and I stupidly fell for him."

"Falling for your friend doesn't sound like such a bad thing," he whispered. "I fell for Cana's mother and married her… And if I'd paid more attention to her, we probably would have been together 'til the end."

"Yeah, well Kinana got him," she muttered. "Or, he chose her over me, I guess. I know he heard what I felt for him… But I never stopped loving him."

"So, you had to just watch them be together," he frowned. When Lucy nodded and he saw the first tear trickle down her cheek, he was drawn back to the Christmas party in the guild, years ago when she'd still been getting used to her prosthetic arm. When the guild had celebrated Kinana being pregnant for the first time. How Lucy had left right after the announcement, but not before going to hug the purple-haired barmaid and congratulate them.

Then, all Gildarts could think about was all the times he'd seen Cobra with Kinana, and Lucy across the guild, simply watching with a soft smile.

She'd consoled Kinana during both miscarriages, but never talked to Cobra.

Lucy was there with a present for each of their three children at baby showers, birthdays, Christmas… But she'd put herself in the position of just another guild mate, for the sake of Cobra's relationship.

"You're… You're one hell of a woman, Lucy," he finally said.

"How do you figure?" she sniffled.

Gildarts sighed and moved closer, pulling the blonde into his arms. While it was something he'd never thought would happen, Lucy really didn't seem to mind all that much that he liked hugging her. She even encouraged it sometimes. The blonde fit so easily in his arms, and her head always found just the right spot for her to be comfortable in moments. "All this time, and you can still find it in yourself to love the guy…"

He winced when she only started crying harder, but Gildarts simply held her just a little tighter. "Most people would have given up, Lucy," he whispered. "And I think you might be the only woman in the world who can still be a great friend to Cobra and Kinana, even though he didn't choose you."

Her shoulders began to shake and her arms wound around his waist in desperation. "If it was me, I don't think I could have done what you did for them."

"I h-hate myself for it," she sobbed.

"Why?"

"Because I want to hate K-Kinana, but…"

"That's just not who you are," he nodded in understanding. He knew she just wasn't capable of something like that. No matter how much it must have hurt her, Lucy was only ever concerned with seeing that the man she loved was happy.

"And do you know what the worst part is?"

"What's that?"

"Part of me hoped they would get divorced… So I'd have a chance with him. Even today, I just… It's so selfish, but I still want him to l-love me."

"It's not selfish to want to be loved, Lucy," Gildarts said.

"It _is_ selfish," she sobbed. "I saved everything f-for him… M-My first kiss and… God, I'm just pathetic!"

A sharp streak of surprise dashed through Gildarts, and he stared down at the top of Lucy's head in amazement. He knew she was in her late twenties, but to never have even been kissed because she was waiting for the guy she loved to see her as more than just his friend?

And even though Gildarts wanted nothing more than to offer himself up as a replacement, he couldn't. The last thing Lucy needed was someone hitting on her, or trying to make a joke when she was in pain. And he had a feeling that, as she continued crying and her tears soaked into the fur in his cloak, this was the one thing she'd never let herself really feel. Instead of trying to move past her feelings for Cobra, Lucy had simply pushed it all to the side so she didn't have to deal with it.

"It's okay, Lucy," he whispered as his arms tightened around her.

He was sure she needed this. To finally let herself feel the pain that loving the Poison Slayer had caused her. To let someone else know just how much the past decade of being alone, pining for someone she couldn't have, had broken her heart.

* * *

Lucy smiled as she shifted Gildarts' metal arm where it was draped across her shoulders and helped him limp back into the cave they'd been staying in for the past week. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, just my leg," he said, his voice low and controlled while he tried to ignore the pain that had grown from a dull ache to daggers stabbing his thigh above his prosthetic.

"How long has it been bothering you?"

"Just a little while."

Lucy shook her head while leading him over to where their bedrolls had been. They were supposed to be moving on from the cave, now that the rain had stopped. There was a village less than ten miles away, nestled in the mountain range. But she could tell they weren't going to be making it there right then. If he couldn't walk without tripping, they wouldn't make it very far before Gildarts just toppled over and died by falling down the side of the mountain.

They hadn't gotten very far before they had to turn around, at her insistence. If there was one thing Lucy found surprising about the older man, it was how stubborn he was concerning his ability to move around while in pain. But she could see it in his eyes as soon as he was sitting down, that instant relief from the weight of his body bearing down on his leg.

"So, since you woke up this morning?" she asked. "Or was it yesterday when you tripped over that invisible rock as soon as you came back with food?"

"Two days ago," he groaned while leaning against the cave wall.

"Gildarts…"

"Don't worry about me, Princess," he chuckled. "I might be getting older, but I'll be fine in about ten minutes."

"What have I said about calling me princess?" she frowned.

"Force of habit," he said, shifting against the wall slightly while stretching out his leg. His hand slid down to massage his thigh just above the strap that held his leg in place. "Gimme thirty minutes, and I'll be ready to go."

Lucy rolled her eyes and sat on the ground at his side to start pulling his boot off.

"Hey, hey," he huffed trying to shuffle away from her. "Don't - Ow!" His head slammed back against the stone wall as the muscles in his leg cramped. "Shit!"

The blonde shook her head as a small portion of the ground beneath his hand exploded. Four months of being around the Crash mage had made her almost entirely immune to surprise explosions. "Gildarts, it's fine," she said softly while pulling the boot off to reveal his heavy metal leg. "Marty told me what to look for in case mine started acting up."

"Th-That's not it," he hissed. "The l-leg's working fine."

Lucy's lips pursed and her fingers stilled while running over the hinge at his knee. "It's your _leg_ leg?"

"Yeah…"

"Can you roll up your pants?"

Gildarts shook his head quickly as the pain in his leg intensified. He wasn't even aware of the shuffling Lucy was doing until he felt her fingers fiddling with the fastening on his pants. "Wh-What the-"

"You're wearing underwear today, right?" she winced, pausing to look into his eyes. The day he'd bent over in front of the fire and his pants had split right down the middle, showing off his bare ass beneath, was still burned into her memory.

"Yes!"

"Then I'm taking your pants off," Lucy said matter-of-factly. If she couldn't roll his pants up to look at his leg, then pulling them down was the only other option. Of course, he wasn't much help in that department, but she couldn't really blame him. For the first time, Lucy was seeing him in pain, and it hurt. Even when the clumsy dope bumped his head, he laughed it off.

Finally, she was able to get his pants down, and the blonde completely ignored the grey boxer-shorts to look at his thigh. The reddened, slightly swollen flesh around the harness that held his prosthetic had her grimacing. She knew for a fact that, for all he joked about not being bothered by his lost limbs, Gildarts didn't like being seen without the prosthetics.

Still, he probably needed a break from walking, and his leg needed to breathe.

"W-Wait, Lucy," he panted as her fingers lowered to his leg. "Don't…"

"You watch me take my arm off every night." She unbuckled the leather straps. "And you never say a word to make me feel weird about it." The blonde found that his leg was much heavier than she'd anticipated, and she really had to hand it to him for being able to walk with the thing in the first place.

"But-"

She looked into his pained eyes again while pulling the metal away and setting it off to the side. "Gildarts, do you really think I'd be weirded out by seeing it?" she whispered. "We're in the same boat. And at least you have part of your arm and leg left. Mine's gone at the shoulder."

He bit his lip and accidentally blew another small hole in the ground.

"Now, just try to relax," she said. "And tell me what's hurting."

"Locked up… Whole thing… Shit!" If he knew that cutting it off would work, Gildarts would have told her to do just that. And while he was more than ready to see Lucy have some sort of reaction to seeing what was left of his leg as she looked down, there was nothing. She didn't make a face, or show any outward disgust.

Lucy gently touched the bottom of his leg, just above where his knee had once been, her fingers barely feathering over the scarred flesh. "Is it worse here?" she asked. He nodded again.

Her hands lightly trailed over his leg, slowly adding more pressure while drawing soothing circles in the tensed muscles. It was something he always did at the end of the day, after removing his leg. Just massaging the half-limb and getting rid of the tension that had built up over the course of the day.

But no one else had ever done this for Gildarts. Not since he'd gone through physical therapy to learn how to walk again. The nurse that had helped him was damn beautiful, so of course he hadn't had an issue with her hands on him.

Her never thought Lucy, of all people, would be willing to do this.

The blonde smiled as she worked higher on his thigh. "How's that?" she whispered.

"A little better."

With one hand still running over the soft hairs on his leg, Lucy reached down to finger her keys. Moments later, Virgo appeared with a small container holding peppermint scented lotion.

Gildarts nodded to the maid spirit when she stood from her bow, watching as she silently walked over to the smothered fire and started rebuilding it for them to use later on. Four months with Lucy, and he still found how useful her spirits were in any scenario absolutely fascinating. He hummed as her suddenly chilled fingers swept across his leg and the scent of peppermint and berries crawled up into his sinuses.

"This should help loosen you up and take some of the pain away, okay?" Lucy whispered.

"Mm-hmm…"

They sat in silence as she kept working. Around the bottom of his leg, not even batting an eye over the knotted, scarred flesh. The front, all the way up to his hip, even pushing her fingers beneath the hem of his underwear to reach her goal. And then Lucy surprised him.

Gildarts hadn't realized his eyes were closed until they shot open to stare at the blonde. She moved closer and lifted his leg into her lap, then her hands shifted to massage the back of his leg. It wasn't even a matter of how wonderful it felt to have her easing the muscles. It was just how close Lucy was, how careful she was. How she still didn't seem to be affected in the slightest by what she was seeing. Or touching.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she laughed.

"You're just a bucket of surprises," he said.

"Not a barrel?" The week before, he'd said the same thing because she'd decided to braid his hair into his beard while he slept. And Lucy had nearly keeled over laughing at the look on his face when he saw his reflection.

"Not today. Just a bucket." He found himself grinning when the blonde pouted playfully. "A pretty bucket, though, so you've got that going for you."

"Oh, well as long as I'm still _pretty_ ," she giggled while adding a little more lotion to his leg. "Your arm is next, by the way."

"There's no need for that," he frowned. "My arm feels fine."

"So you say, but you _also_ told me that your leg was fine until you couldn't walk."

He didn't care that she technically had a point. It didn't mean he had to like that he was wrong. Or what she was offering. "Still, my arm can stay on."

"You never take these off, Gildarts," she sighed. "Not when I'm around and conscious, at least. I mean, do you really think-"

"Lucy, you don't need to worry about my arm," he insisted.

"It's not like I haven't already seen it," she countered. His jaw dropped and she gave him a gentle smile. "I was curious, so while I was braiding your hair I peeked at your arm."

"You… what?"

She ignored how his jaw had fallen open and instead reached forward to loosen his cloak, then the fastenings under his sleeve that held his metal arm in place. "I've never seen it," she whispered. "I only know what my shoulder looks like, and I was curious."

"But… While I was sleeping!"

"I didn't look at your leg," she said, grunting as his arm came loose and she carefully set the heavy metal on the ground. She looked down at his real arm, and her fingers smoothed over the deteriorated muscle. "I just wanted to know how different it was from what I have."

Gildarts teeth clenched for a moment as her words fully sunk in. He wanted to be mad at the blonde for seeing him at his most vulnerable, while he was asleep and without his permission, but he just couldn't. Even though they were mages, being an amputee wasn't exactly the most common thing to encounter. He and Lucy were the only ones in Fairy Tail, after all.

And a little curiosity in this case, made sense.

He couldn't even try to be upset with the blonde as soon as she started rubbing gentle circles over his arm and shoulder. Because while he'd said that she didn't need to worry about his arm, she'd been right. It was a little on the sore side from prolonged use of his prosthetic.

His head tipped back to the wall, and Gildarts let his eyes slide closed. Who was he to complain about something like her seeing his arm or leg when all Lucy was trying to do was make him feel better? So, instead of saying a thing, Gildarts let her do as she pleased, and let out a long, slow breath while she started spreading some of that peppermint lotion over his arm as well.

* * *

By the time Lucy and Gildarts made it out of the mountains, after finally having found the cave system they needed to go through, they were exhausted. It was another month before they made it through the country of Stella, and they stopped again in a small tavern just outside the border of Joya to have a simple dinner and sleep in a real bed for a change.

The atmosphere was nothing like the guild would have been right then. There were no lumbering pines in the dim tavern to celebrate the Christmas holiday. For the most part, no one in the country seemed to celebrate it. Instead, they filled their winter months with what Lucy had come to find out was a different tradition altogether. Several days of small presents given to loved ones, the lighting of candles each night and a soft-spoken prayer in memory of a small band of soldiers who had fought against the corruption taking hold of Stella hundreds of years before the Dragon Civil War.

A seven-pronged candelholder sat in the tavern's front window with the final candle lit for the last night of their quiet celebration.

In the far corner, she and Gildarts sat in a booth and enjoyed their salmon, wine, and quiet conversation. It was so different from Fiore, from the guild. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she'd had a quiet holiday, but it was nice. Relaxing, even. She had to admit, it was rather enjoyable not having to dodge a turkey flying through the air well after it had been cooked.

And as she looked across the table to the man who'd kept her company and gave her a shoulder to cry on, with a grain of rice in his beard that she was sure he had no idea was there, Lucy found herself smiling even wider.

She lifted the napkin from her lap and reached across the table to dab at his chin. "You're such a messy eater," she teased.

He waited until he'd swallowed the bite he'd been chewing, then set down his fork with a small smile lifting his lips. "I'm better than Natsu though, so I'd say I have that going for me."

"Babies are better than Natsu," Lucy laughed. She could honestly attest to that. While watching Cobra's son and daughters eating at the same table as Natsu, the Fire Dragon Slayer had actually made more of a mess than them, combined.

But the thought of Cobra and his family had her smile faltering and her gaze drifting down to her half-empty plate. Five months since leaving with Gildarts, and no matter how many times she let herself cry over the reality of her life, no matter how many times she reminded herself that this was supposed to be a time for her to finally _move on_ from the Poison Slayer, it still hurt to think that now everyone knew what she'd wanted to disappear so long ago.

Gildarts reached across the table and placed his hand over Lucy's, waiting for her to look at him again. Once she did, his other hand withdrew a small pouch from his pants pocket and he set it in her hand.

"What is this?" she whispered, staring down at the folded cloth with a simple string tied around it.

"Merry Christmas, Lucy," Gildarts said. "I know, it's probably a little weird, me getting you something, but… I just wanted you to have this."

"But I… I didn't get you anything, Gildarts. And Christmas was last week."

"I've already got my gift," he chuckled. They'd been travelling nonstop and hadn't even realized that Christmas had passed until the day before. They'd both had quite the laugh over it, to be honest. Her tear-filled eyes lifted from the pouch to stare at him. "I'm not alone. You coming on this job with me is more precious a gift than anything you could have found in a store."

"I-I'm not… Gil…"

He chuckled while reaching up to brush the tears from her cheek. "The older I get, the more I realize that holidays are a time for families to be together. We don't really have that right now. Cana's back in Fiore, and even after all this time, I know she doesn't really see me as her _father_. And while the guild is like a family… I'm still glad that I'm spending it with you, Lucy."

When she sat, speechless and silently crying, he slid out of his seat and moved to her side of the booth, then wrapped his metal arm around her shoulders.

"What's the matter?" he whispered.

Lucy shook her head and curled into his side while pulling the gift to her chest.

"Go on and open it." His hand brushed gently over her arm while her fingers fumbled with the string.

Lucy stared at the little silver locket in the shape of a door, with a small star engraved into the center of it. "Gil…" She'd become all thumbs, it seemed, when she couldn't figure out how to open the thing. Thankfully, Gildarts took pity on her and did it himself to reveal a Fairy Tail symbol on the inside of the door and a simple quote engraved into the metal on the other side.

 _The darkest nights  
lead to the  
best adventures._

"It's probably silly," he said.

"I-It's not," she sniffled. And finally, Lucy looked up at him and gave the Crash mage a watery smile. "It's perfect. Would you…"

He nodded and pulled the locket from her grasp, then carefully laid it over her breast and clasped it. And when they both looked down, he found himself laughing right along with Lucy when they realized that he'd put it on backwards, so all they could see was the silver backing. Gildarts had always hated putting necklaces on women before, for this exact reason. He _always_ found a way to put them on backwards.

Once it was fixed, Lucy's metal fingers brushed over it and she rested her head on his shoulder. "Thank you, Gildarts."

Before he could say anything in response, the tavern's owner, a large woman with cherry red hair pulled into a too-tight bun, appeared at their table with a soft smile as she looked at the two mages. "You make such an adorable couple," she said.

Lucy and Gildarts froze and stared at her, broken from the little bubble they'd been in. They were just so used to being alone, just the two of them, that both mages had completely forgotten that they were actually in the tavern at all.

"W-We're not, uh…" Gildarts sputtered.

"We're just friends," Lucy laughed nervously. She didn't, however, try to remove herself from Gildarts' embrace.

"Friends?" the woman giggled. "Are you sure you're not something else?"

"Positive," Gildarts answered instantly.

"Just friends," Lucy said.

"Best friends," he nodded in agreement.

Lucy blinked in surprise at the Crash mage. "Best… friends?"

He turned a gentle smile toward the suddenly blushing blonde, and lightly squeezed her shoulders. "The best friend I've ever had, princess."

"When are you going to stop calling me that?" she pouted.

"Only when I'm old and grey, and you're changing my diapers."

"So in a couple years…"

"That's just cruel," he laughed.

The tavern owner shook her head as Lucy poked Gildarts in the side and pulled a high-pitched giggle from the bearded man. "Well, _just friends_ ," she grinned. "Can I interest you in some dessert?"

Lucy bit her lip to stifle a laugh when Gildarts pressed his fingers into her side. "Maybe in a little bit," she said. "I still have to finish this delicious dinner."

Gildarts nodded when the woman turned her attention to him. "Most likely," he grinned. "Lucy here doesn't look like it, but she's quite the vacuum when it comes to her sweets."

"Like you're much better," Lucy snorted.

"I'm an enabler," he shrugged.

"Then I'll just leave you two to finish your meals," the owner smiled. "More wine?"

"Definitely," they answered in unison. She left and returned with the bottle, refilling their glasses and moving Gildarts' setting across the table so he wouldn't have to get up, then left them alone once more.

And as the night continued, his arm never unwound itself from around Lucy's shoulders while they ate. Even when the table was cleared and they shared several brownies and ice cream, and several more glasses of wine, they were perfectly content to continue sitting side by side.

"Gildarts?" Lucy whispered while he settled the bill and placed several Jewel notes on the table.

"Yeah?"

When he turned to look at her, Lucy leaned up and pressed her lips to his. She wasn't sure what to expect from her very first kiss, but there were no fireworks and stars bursting behind her closed lids while Gildarts gently kissed her back. She felt _something_ , that was for sure, but the blonde had to remind herself that not everything was like she'd read in books.

So instead, she just let herself experience his lips on hers, how it felt to have his facial hair brushed across her chin. He kept kissing her, slow and chaste, until Lucy finally pulled back and smiled up at him.

"Happy New Years, Gildarts," she whispered.

It took a couple seconds for it to sink in, but eventually he smiled down at her in understanding. For the sake of tradition, and because she was comfortable with him, she'd given him her first kiss. Not exactly the most romantic, but he'd take it. And he was more than honored that she'd decided to give that to him. "Happy New Years, Lucy." He pulled her into a tender hug, smiling into her hair.

"I'm glad you're my best friend," she sighed.

"Me too, beautiful." And he was. He hadn't been lying earlier in the night when he'd said that spending this time away from the guild with Lucy was more precious to him than any other gift he could have gotten. For the first time in years, he wasn't always alone. He had someone to watch his back - even though at this point in his life, he didn't really need it - and someone to just talk to while out on the road.

Gildarts had never really considered how lonely he'd been until Lucy had been sitting across from him, back in Magnolia, sipping at the weak (mostly disgusting) tea he'd made her.

* * *

"Ah, Cobra, is your wife not joining us today?"

The Poison Slayer made himself comfortable in the familiar plush grey armchair, shaking his head as he stared at the nameplate on the desk before him that read _J. Kyouraku._

"Very well. I understand it's sometimes difficult to find a babysitter."

"Yeah," he whispered.

"Is there something you wish to speak with me about?"

His head lifted and his single eye locked onto the man who was only a couple years older than himself, with stark white hair and gentle brown eyes. "Yeah," he said softly while glancing at the picture on the therapist's bookshelf of himself and his brunette life-partner, hugging and smiling during a formal dinner. "But I need to know if me talking to you about anything will create a conflict of interest in mine and Kina's marriage counseling."

"Well, that depends on what you tell me. If it's something that directly relates to what we're discussing in your joint sessions with her, then it might come up. And it _is_ better if there aren't secrets." He paused when Cobra's brow pinched slightly, a clear sign that the Poison Slayer had grown uncomfortable. "That's only if it does come up, Cobra. I won't ask leading questions and force you to talk about it while Kinana is around, if that's what you're worried about."

"I mean, I know I should talk to her about it, but… Doc, I just need someone to vent to. So I can sort this shit out before I try to talk to Kina about it."

"And there is no one you're close enough to outside of myself that could help you with this?"

Cobra winced. He knew what the guy was getting at, that he should try to depend on his friends in the guild to listen to him and help him work through problems. But this wasn't something he wanted to involve anyone else in. No one needed to know that he was thinking like this in the first place.

Finally, he said, "They wouldn't understand. It'd get blown out of proportion, probably. And that's not what Kina needs."

"What about what you need?"

"I don't care about that… I just want her to be happy."

"We've already discussed that you need to take your own desires into consideration, Cobra. Bending over backwards for her at every turn will only damage the foundation of your relationship."

"Yeah," Cobra nodded. "Regardless, I… I trust you to tell me how it is. You're good at that devil's advocate shit, and you've been our therapist for a while now, so you know Kina."

"Very well," he smiled. "What would you like to talk about today, Cobra?"

"Lucy."

"... I see."

"I miss her, and I don't know what I'm supposed to do about it."

"Has she come up recently?"

"No," Cobra sighed. "I've missed her for a long time though. Since before she left on that mission. Since… Since I lost her as my friend."

"And do you blame your wife for Lucy no longer being in your life the way she used to be?"

Cobra leaned back and ran a hand over his face wearily. This was part of the reason he liked the guy. It was almost like _he_ could hear souls too. Jushiro always knew exactly what to say or ask. "I don't even know," he muttered. "I can't talk about it at all with Kina though. Ever since Lucy ran out that day, bringing her up at all is off-limits unless we're here. Because I know if I talk about her, my wife will just start thinking that I want to leave her for Lucy."

"Well, I can tell you that thoughts like this aren't exactly uncommon, Cobra. Kinana is a mother of three children. She might be insecure when comparing her body to Lucy's, since Ms. Heartfilia hasn't had children."

"That's not it," Cobra said. "She loves her body. She always has, no matter what."

"Then what do you think is the reason Kinana feels you'll leave her for Lucy?"

"I don't know," he groaned. "I wish I did, so I could just make it go away… I just want her to be happy again… And every day, all I can hear is that she's not happy anymore. That she thinks this counseling is a waste of time, because she's the only one who talks and I never say a whole lot."

"You are being more talkative today than in our other sessions."

"That's because I want her to feel like she can say anything she needs to. If I talk, then she could just turn it around on me later."

"Yet you could do the same thing to her," Jushiro mused. "And do you do that?"

"Never," Cobra frowned. "What she says… It's nothing I haven't heard from her soul already. I'm not surprised by it. I just want her to get it off her chest and feel like I'm actually listening to her."

"And do you think you would be having this same issue if it was you and Lucy together, and not you and Kinana?"

Cobra wanted to say no, because he and Lucy had always been on the same wavelength when they were younger. She understood him so damn well. Still, he thought about it. If he was with Lucy and not Kinana, would things still be like this? Would he still have issues communicating, no matter how well he listened?

"I don't know," Cobra finally said. "But I don't love Lucy like I love my wife. I never have."

"She's always been your friend," Jushiro nodded. "I can understand that. But Kinana was once your friend as well, wasn't she?"

"When she was Cubellios," Cobra said sadly. That had been an interesting story to tell the therapist, how Kinana had been cursed as a snake and had met the little slave boy who would one day become her husband. "With her, it's just… She makes me whole, Doc. Even as a snake, Cubellios was my whole world. And when I found Kinana again, it was like we'd never been separated. The sun shined out of her fucking ass, and I didn't give a damn about anything else in the world."

"And then you befriended Lucy," Jushiro said. "Did that change anything?"

"No," Cobra said, then frowned. "I mean, yes… sort of."

"How?"

"I had a friend that wasn't Kinana. Midnight and the others… we're friends _now_ , but it's not the same as what I had with Cubellios, or with Lucy."

"So there have been only two women to hold a special place in your inner circle."

"Yeah… But… When it came out that I was dating Kina, Lucy just… She pulled away from me. She left me."

"When you and Kinana came to me, you told me that Lucy has had feelings for you for a decade, and never acted on it."

"She loves me," Cobra whispered. "And I never did anything about it. Sh-She never stopped loving me, but… I guess… Maybe part of me was hurting over the fact that I'd trusted her so much, and she just dropped me like a bad habit."

"Kinana says it was out of respect for your relationship."

"I know that. But it still fucking hurt. And when I heard her soul it was… This is my fault, isn't it? I didn't mean to do it, but somehow I made her keep loving me?"

"I don't think we can say that with any certainty," Jushiro said with a thoughtful frown.

"Or maybe Kinana just doesn't trust me because she remembers how I'd left her before…"

"When did you leave her?"

"When she was still a snake," Cobra muttered. "I was a member of the Oracion Seis…"

"Yes, I remember that time…"

"When Fairy Tail defeated us, I left Cubellios behind before the Rune Knights found me. I didn't want them to hurt her, but… I never said anything to her about it. I just disappeared… Sh-She still blames me for her being alone all that time…"

Jushiro grabbed the box of tissues from the corner of his desk and silently handed them to Cobra as he tried to blink back the tears welling in his eye.

"I-I don't want to lose my wife," Cobra sniffled. "I've lost everyone I've ever cared about, and I can't lose her too."

"That is why you both come to counseling," Jushiro said gently. "So we can work together to get through these issues, and build a solid foundation for the two of you to start communicating again."

Cobra nodded and dabbed at his eye, then wiped his nose. "C-Can you just… maybe tell me what I'm doing wrong? She's starting to think she doesn't love me anymore…"

"What does her soul say?"

"It's still there," he answered. "She does love me, but I… I can't even hold her now. A-And she knows that sometimes I just need to do it… Before Kina and the kids, I couldn't handle people touching me at all. I… I _need_ her to h-hold me right now…"

Jushiro was silent as Cobra's quiet sniffles descended into full sobs and his head dropped to his hands in defeat.

"I wanna die," Cobra cried. "Every f-fucking day, I wake up and the first th-thing I think about is how I'll j-just kill myself… Take a mission and let a m-monster kill me… Slit my throat in the b-bathtub… I-I can't take it anymore..."

"Cobra, that-"

"I can't take her hating m-me… I know she does. She h-hates me, and all I e-ever wanted was for her to l-love me…"

"Cobra," Jushiro said with a small, concerned frown, "Is there someone I need to call for you?"

"But I've got Kina and the kids," he continued, his shoulders shuddering with the force of his sobs. "Th-That's the only thing that s-stops me… But if sh-she leaves, then…" Cobra leaned back and pulled his knees to his chest in the chair, not caring in the slightest what he looked like right then, because even if he'd wanted to stop… he just couldn't.

"Cobra, tell me what I can do to help," Jushiro said gently.

"I-I want m-my wife… Please… C-Can you… I need her…"

Jushiro quickly pressed a call button and contacted his secretary, thankful that she wore headphones so other patients in the lobby wouldn't be able to hear what was happening in his office. "Nanao, could you please call the Fairy Tail guild?"

"Sir, is everything alright?"

"Yes, Mr. Cobra just needs to see his wife right now. And, if you could stress that to Kinana… I think it would be for the best if they have someone watch the children while she's here."

"Of course, sir."

Jushiro ended the call and listened to Cobra crying. Never in his life would he have imagined that a man who so many still feared would end up this way. Just looking at him when he walked into the office every time he and Kinana arrived for their sessions, Cobra always looked composed. Generally angry, untrusting of the world. But Jushiro knew firsthand, through experiences with his own husband, that the most damaging things a person had to deal with usually stayed buried until they couldn't hold it back any longer.

Time ticked onward, but Cobra didn't calm down. It wasn't until there was a soft knock just before the door opened that anything changed.

As soon as Kinana was in the room, Cobra's head lifted and he looked right into her widened jade eyes. "Erik…"

"I-I'm sorry," he sobbed. "I'm s-so sorry…"

She shook her head in confusion and turned toward the therapist who was simply watching them. "What happened to him?"

"C-Cu, please… Don't leave me, okay? Please…"

"What did you do to my husband?!" Kinana shouted.

"I listened," Jushiro said softly. "He's made it clear that he doesn't want me to discuss what we talked about today."

Kinana looked back at Cobra, finding him curled up with his head lowered once again, and in an instant a distant, painful memory flashed in her mind. The day she and Erik had met, when he was smelly and shackled and too thin, curled in on himself and crying as quietly as possible so the guards wouldn't beat him again.

He never called her 'Cu' anymore. The last time he'd done it was when he'd had a particularly bad nightmare, just before their son was born, and had needed her to hold him until he'd calmed down again. Every time he called her that, she knew it was bad. That there was something happening that was pulling him back to really being Cobra once more.

She closed the distance between them, ripping his arms from around his legs and pulling Cobra to her chest. Between one breath and the next, his tears had soaked into her pale green blouse. "Erik, talk to me… What's happening, Coby?" It took several minutes for him to be able to speak clearly, but when he did, her heart shattered.

"I w-wish I was dead..."

"You what?" Her face paled when she looked over her shoulder to the therapist. "What is he talking about?"

"It appears your husband has developed severe suicidal ideation," Jushiro said. "From what I can tell, he's been considering it for some time, Kinana. Whether he'll go through with it or not depends on a lot of things, and I think we need to work through this and consider-"

"No hospitals," Cobra whimpered.

"No," Kinana said while stroking his hair. "No hospitals, Erik. I know you don't want to be locked up like that."

"There is medication and therapy," Jushiro supplied. "That's not my particular expertise, but I can give you a referral to a trusted associate of mine."

Kinana bit her lips in indecision. This wasn't something they could just talk about for a couple seconds and decide on. "Erik, why am I just now hearing about this?"

His arms tightened around her waist, but he didn't try to say anything.

"This is important," she whispered. "You know I can't hear you like you can hear me. You have to _talk_ to me…"

"And s-say what?" he whimpered. "That I hear how m-much you hate me, and I know it's m-my fault? Cu, I-I… M-My nightmares came back, and all I can think about a-all the time is that they'll come true… Th-That you'll leave me a-and..."

"When did it start again?" she frowned.

"Two y-years ago…"

"You never told me."

Cobra shook his head and grabbed another tissue to swipe at the tears streaming down his cheek. "N-No point," he whispered. "You're so busy with the babies, and… I just wanted to make things easier f-for you… not harder… You don't n-need a fourth kid c-crying all over you and whining about s-stupid shit…"

Kinana blinked back her own tears while nestling her nose in his hair. She just couldn't understand how she had missed this for so long. That he'd needed her, and she just hadn't been available in any sense of the word. Part of her wanted to be angry that he'd kept something so major from her, that he would be selfish enough to even _consider_ killing himself when he had a family that depended on him.

But she pushed it all back and set her focus on her husband. He never cried, with the exception of when she'd miscarried and when their three children were born. Cobra just wasn't a crier. The fact that it was happening now, and that the man so many thought was incapable of being weak was letting his walls crumble and showing her the toxic mess that was eating at his soul… There was no way she could turn her back on him. Regardless of the problems in their marriage, he needed a friend right then, if nothing else.

And since she was the reason he'd lost his only other best friend, Kinana knew that the job fell to her.

' _It's not a job,'_ she reminded herself while kissing the pointed tip of his ear. _'I still love him. I'll always be there for him…'_

"I l-love you so much," Erik sniffled.

"I love you too, sweetheart. Always and forever."

* * *

Once they were in the safety of the pyramid, Lucy pulled down the scarf wrapped around her face and removed the goggles she'd been wearing to keep the harsh desert sand out of her eyes. The sun beat down on her back in the small lit space for only a moment before Gildarts came in behind her. It was a long hallway ahead of them, from what she could tell, but the distant end was bathed in darkness.

And she knew from history lessons in ancient civilizations of neighboring countries that this wasn't going to be an easy undertaking. For the past year they'd been scouring the desert, moving from one small town to the next dozens of miles away, using the map that had been given to Gildarts when he accepted the job the first time around. Nearly thirty years ago. The terrain had changed. More villages had cropped up in that time. And no one they came across seemed to know a thing about this pyramid they were searching for.

Hell, they'd wasted a whole month trying to find the entrance, and then searching, the last pyramid they'd come across. And it had been the wrong one.

This time, though, Lucy knew it was the right one. The hieroglyphic writing along the walls was similar to what was printed on the map. She wasn't sure what it said, but the pictures were in the same sequences.

Freed or Levy would have been perfect for this job. She knew for a fact that the Rune mage had started using characters similar to these in his runes in the last decade. Every time a stray chair or table (or mage) flew into the barrier surrounding the "family corner" of the guild, bright purple writing would flash and repel it. And Lucy had spent more time than she cared to admit watching that part of the guild. She knew that she'd seen this curved ankh and those twin squiggling lines that looked like water.

"Well, we made it," Gildarts sighed. He guided Lucy forward slowly, keeping close behind her since the hallway was too narrow for them to walk next to one another, and took a swig of water from his canteen before holding it over her shoulder.

"Oh my god, water," Lucy moaned. She took only one gulp of the refreshing liquid before handing it back to him. They needed to conserve their water as much as possible. All of their supplies were being held in the Celestial Realm, and while Virgo had the ability to bring them more water, Lucy wanted her spirits to relax for as long as possible in case they ran into trouble.

Like that stupid sand serpent a few months prior that had taken a liking to her boot… and her whole leg. Luckily, Gildarts had stopped laughing at her leg being halfway down the thing's throat long enough to decimate it into little snaky cubes.

They still had jerky leftover from it. It was actually pretty delicious.

Lucy reached back and gently grasped Gildarts' metal hand with her own, ensuring they didn't get separated as they rounded a corner bathed in darkness.

"How are you getting through his hallway?" he whispered as they turned to the side to shuffle further into the maze. "I barely fit!"

"Suck it up, buttercup," Lucy giggled. He couldn't see that she was struggling just as much as he probably was to get through. _'Stupid boobs!'_ If the fabric of her shirt survived the scraping along old stone walls, she was going to give the craftsman some serious props.

"I _am_ sucking it in!"

"Gil, you're ridiculous," Lucy laughed. Moments later, then stumbled out into a dimly lit room with a thin firelit moat running around its edges. In the center of the room stood an enormous statue of the ancient jackal-god, Anapa. The protector of the deceased and their tombs. The deity who decided the fates of souls before they could fully pass into the afterlife.

"You ready for this, princess?" Gildarts whispered as he sent his keen gaze across the room.

"Y-Yeah," Lucy gulped. She turned toward Gildarts when he gently squeezed her hand, then closed her eyes when his lips puckered on her forehead and their fingers laced together. It was the first time since she'd kissed him in the tavern in Stella that his lips had come in contact with her. They were still nothing more than friends, and that was something she was fine with.

"You're gonna keep my old, crippled ass safe, right?" he chuckled.

"You're not a cripple," she smiled as their foreheads pressed together. "If anything, I'll need _you_ to get me out of trouble. I'm pretty much a magnet for it at this point."

"I think I can manage that," he laughed.

"Then I'll keep your wrinkled pa-tooty safe," she said.

"It's not wrinkly."

"Hairy."

"You lie," he grinned.

Lucy simply shrugged. "I've seen better." That was definitely a lie. She'd seen his ass several times since they'd left Magnolia, and it was definitely a top-notch rear-end. Nice and muscular. But the last thing Gildarts needed was a confidence boost about that.

He squeezed her hand again then looked toward the statue. His smile slid into a grimace when he saw the scattered bones and mostly withered bits of cloth that had once been clothing and travelling packs littering the ground around the large golden pedestal it stood on.

"We can do this, Gil," Lucy whispered. "And as soon as we're done, we get to celebrate."

"Hot springs," he muttered, never taking his eyes from the skeletons on the ground.

"I'll wash your back if you wash mine."

"You've got a deal."

Lucy turned and started making her way toward the statue, holding just as tightly to Gildarts' hand as he did with hers. There was no telling what they were going to find once they made it past Anapa. All she could hope for with each passing step was that she would get to see the sun shining again with Gildarts.

* * *

 **Update: There will be one more chapter to finish this story out. Apparently the note in the beginning caused some confusion.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: And now, the third and final chapter for this story. I've just finished this, and I tried to proof it, but there's a lot that I need to do in real life right now so I just wanted to get this out to you guys before I forget.**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 3**_

* * *

The guild was bustling just like it always did right before the Grand Magic Games. Except Cobra didn't hear any of the noise around him. Instead, he was sitting down at a table and thinking about the blonde woman who had once been the best friend he'd ever had.

His therapist of a little over a year, the man who was married to his and Kinana's marriage counselor, had told him that it wasn't unhealthy to think about Lucy. Shunsui had assured Cobra that it was actually normal. Apparently, what wasn't normal was Cobra not having any feelings for her whatsoever - because the majority of Shunsui's patients who were in this same predicament were romantically obsessed with the other person.

With his head propped on one hand, gazing down at the worksheet he'd been given by Shunsui - his homework for the week - Cobra thought back to the last time he'd seen Lucy.

Two years ago to the day. And when he thought about the date, the first of July, Cobra winced. The last time Lucy had been in the guild was on her birthday. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd thought about getting Lucy a present for her birthday.

After his revelation to Kinana the year before about wanting to kill himself, Cobra had thought things would get better. And they did, just not until he'd actually tried to commit suicide. Kinana had brushed off the cry for help once they'd left Jushiro's office, and it was only after Gajeel had come over with Rogue to watch the kids and found Cobra lying on the floor with a gun in his hand and a hole in the underside of his chin that everyone realized just how serious it was.

He was lucky enough to not have sustained any brain damage from trying to blow his brains out. He was thankful that he'd been a bad enough shot to get it through his chin, up through the roof of his mouth, and then out of his right eye socket - where the eyeball was already missing.

' _... so weird that Cobra tried to kill himself…'_

' _... that eye patch he wears now… I dunno, I kinda like it…'_

Cobra bit his lip and focused on the paper in front of him instead of the few souls that had managed to break his concentration.

 _Step 1: Focus only on the words on the page, Erik. This might seem silly, but you can't go to step 2 until nothing breaks your focus. If you lose focus at any step, return to step 1 and start again._

Alright, he could do that. Just block out the souls in the guild. That was easy.

Sort of. A little over forty years old, and Cobra still had a hard time with it from time to time. Luckily, Kinana and Mira had been running interference and told everyone to leave him alone. They couldn't control their souls, but they could at least not approach him.

 _Step 2: You're doing great, Erik. Now that you can't hear anyone's soul, focus deeper. Focus on yourself. What is it you want the most right now? Whatever it is, write it down. And don't think your wife will see this, because I've asked her to not discuss anything in these assignments you're doing. So, tell me… What do you really want right now?_

Cobra bit his lip and frowned down at the page. Shunsui was a great therapist, maybe a bit of a drinker but Cobra didn't fault him for it. And just like his husband, the brunette knew what questions to ask. Even better though was that he'd been through something a lot like what Cobra was going through. He understood this.

Finally, Cobra wrote down the one thing he wouldn't have let himself write before: _I want Lucy to come home and be my best friend again._

 _Step 3: If you wrote about Lucy, read this. If you wrote about anything else, jump to step 6._

Cobra chuckled and quietly cursed under his breath.

 _Step 3a: What things have you done in the past to keep her from moving on? Don't worry, it's not all your fault that she never moved on. You're doing a great job, Erik. Keep focusing on the words right here._

Cobra knew this was coming though. He'd thought a lot about it, and came to realize that one of the many things he'd done where Lucy was concerned was that he never confronted her about it. He never recognized that she had any sort of attraction to him, and he never outwardly told her to move on from him. Hell, even telling Natsu to make sure Lucy never forgot that he cared about her was a tick on his shit list, as far as the Poison Slayer was concerned.

So he wrote all of that down in the small space afforded to him.

 _Step 3b: Tell me what you're thinking about right now. Now that you've probably just torn yourself a new asshole._

Cobra didn't hesitate to write down his response: _How little she really smiled the longer she loved me. Her smile was forced, less bright. She didn't enjoy things because me being in her life at all had poisoned her._

Cobra was so involved in continuing with the page, making sure he was staying focused on the work and not the souls around him, that even he jumped when the guild doors exploded into hundreds of tiny cubes that pelted the walls. Everyone's attention was drawn to the entrance, to the gleaming rays of sunlight peeking through the settling dust.

And then it settled, and Cobra's eye widened when he heard her soul again. When he saw her smiling so easily while smacking Gildarts in the ribs.

"Gil," Lucy laughed, "You're hopeless!"

"Eh, I didn't want to open the door," Gildarts grinned, dodging her hand as it flew at his head.

"You're why Natsu's so destructive!" Lucy cackled.

Cobra wanted to weep when he heard her soul and saw her bright shining honey eyes. It was singing again, just like it used to when they were younger, when he was the one who made her smile every day. Except now, its harmony melded with the Crash mage beside her, whose metal arm shifted to drape over her shoulders and pull her into his side as they waved to their friends and walked toward the bar.

They weren't lovers, that much was clear, but Lucy had grown so close to Gildarts over the last couple years that it was nearly painful. Not painful to listen to, but painful to know… because it had once been _him_ holding a place in her heart, her very best friend, but being with Kinana had killed any chance of having that sort of closeness with the Celestial mage.

' _No,'_ Cobra thought with a frown. It wasn't his relationship with Kinana. He looked back down at the paper in front of him, then flipped it over to see the back was still unanswered. With a sigh, he wrote down the reason that he'd lost focus, then pulled out a fresh worksheet and started trying to focus once more.

 _Step 1: I'm focused… again.  
Step 2: I really want Lucy to come talk to me. I don't know if I can go talk to her, but I want to give her a hug and tell her that I missed her.  
Step 3a: Hugging her will only make it harder for her, so I should leave her alone. But that's what I've always done, ever since we stopped talking.  
Step 3b: I hate myself for hurting her when she was only ever a great friend to me. I hate that I never knew she was in so much pain. I miss her, and now she's in the guild, but I still can't go and see her.  
Step 4: She's back. She's really back. I want to say I'm happy, and I am… but Gildarts took my place. Kinana looks happy though, and I can hear… … I got distracted when Lucy laughed at the bar. She's hugging Mira now, so I guess they made up. I'll try again later tonight. I know I won't be able to focus if she's here… It's been two years…_

* * *

"Ah, I'm glad to see my children have come back safe and sound!" Makarov shouted over the resounding cheers of the Fairy Tail guild. He walked down the bar and grinned at Lucy - who was already gulping down her second strawberry smoothie - and Gildarts. "And that no one has been impregnated."

"I tried," Lucy groaned. "As it turns out, Gildarts can't _get_ pregnant… No matter how many times I sodomized-"

"And that's enough of that!" Gildarts laughed while covering Lucy's mouth.

"Well," Makarov chuckled. "Tell me about the mission. Did you succeed this time?"

"And then some," Gildarts answered while Lucy went back to her smoothie. "But Master, I think you should have Lucy in the next S Class trials."

"Is that so?"

He nodded while leaning over and swiping the straw from between the blonde's lips, giving her a cheeky grin as he sipped at her smoothie.

"I can't even be mad at this," she sighed. "It's better than you drinking beer at one in the afternoon."

Gildarts chuckled then turned back to Makarov. "She saved my life on that mission," he said, all humor leaving his voice. "I think she should have made S Class a long time ago with how she handled herself."

"And is that something you wish to do, Lucy?" Makarov asked the blonde.

Instead of averting her eyes and just shrugging it off, everyone nearby was surprised to see Lucy smile wider than before. "Definitely," she laughed. "I think it's about time everyone saw that my magic is a force to be reckoned with!"

"Gildarts, whaddya mean Luce saved your life?" Natsu shouted across the guild.

Lucy simply sat back with a smile as Gildarts told anyone who was willing to listen about just what their mission had entailed. Thankfully, he left out most of the juicy details, but that was fine by her.

Only Cobra heard the memories from both mages that day, the full story of what had happened.

* * *

Gildarts looked across the empty space toward where Lucy stood, her face contorted into one of worry and distress. His hands brushed lightly over the palm of Anapa, then he looked down at the map once again. "It says to weigh truth against heart…"

"I still can't believe you can read that, and you never told me!"

He couldn't help but laugh when she glared at him. "Well, I had a lot of time while I was lost the first time around. But we'll talk about that later. Are you ready?"

"Not in a million years," she winced. "And you're _positive_ this is what we're supposed to do?"

"Not really," Gildarts chuckled. Honestly, he hadn't a clue what they really needed to do, but Anapa's two hands were outstretched and he _did_ know the ritual for passing to the underworld, Duat. And since he didn't exactly have a feather to weigh his heart against, Lucy was going to have to act as the truth while he was the heart. He hoped.

"That doesn't make me feel better!"

"Well, we just have to go with it, Princess," he laughed. "Now c'mon." Gildarts hoisted himself up onto Anapa's hand at the same time as Lucy, and they both carefully stood up, looking across the short distance between their respective platforms.

"S-So… now wh-"

The pyramid rumbled and both mages looked up to find the jackal-headed statue's eyes glowing a vibrant orange. Its mouth opened and the fingers began to curl up and around Lucy and Gildarts.

"Unworthy," came the thunderous voice of the statue.

"No!" Gildarts shouted, throwing his hands up to catch the fingers that had curled down around his body. "Lucy jump down!"

"No way!" she shrieked. She looked up to find the fingers of truth were coming closer as well, and instead of dwelling on what might happen, she shouted, "Gildarts, do you trust me?"

"Not exactly the best time-"

"Do you trust me!"

"Yes!" He grunted while dropping to his knees as the fingers kept pushing down on him. "L-Lucy run!"

And she did run, just not in the direction he would have guessed. Instead, the blonde ran right toward him, vaulting from the hand she'd been standing on and under the fingers that were slowly crushing him. She curled up next to him and put her hands just next to his to help him push.

"What are you doing?! RUN AWAY!" Gildarts shouted.

"No way," she said. "Maybe we're supposed to both be on this one!"

And then the fingers started clenching with more purpose.

"Unworthy!" the statue bellowed.

"Or not!" Lucy whimpered.

Gildarts kept one arm up to hold the stone fingers back, using his other to wrap around Lucy and drag her body under him.

"Gildarts, what are you-"

"I'll protect you," he panted. "For as long as I can. Even if I can only give you another couple minutes…" He cried out and dropped his metal arm, bracing his back against the stone and giving Lucy as much room as possible. "Get out."

"What about your magic?"

"W-Won't work," he chuckled through tightly gritted teeth. "That was the f-first thing I tried."

Tears welled on her lashes as she looked up into his pained eyes. "I'm not leaving you to die," she whispered.

"L-Lucy please… Just go, okay?"

"NO!" She reached down and grabbed her keys, the fire in her eyes dying as soon as she felt the cold metal with no magic coursing through it. That meant she was cut off from her spirits for the time being.

"Th-Thanks for… making me less lonely," Gildarts said, groaning while trying to keep his arms straight. "T-Two years… Best two years of my life."

"Gil," Lucy sniffled. "You're not gonna die. Stop-"

"And… th-thanks for rubbing my arm and leg when they h-hurt…"

Lucy shook her head as his arms began to tremble. Gildarts hissed as his body was pushed closer to hers, collapsing down onto his forearms.

"Please go," he whimpered. "Don't… Don't watch me die, P-Princess…"

Lucy smiled as the first of his tears trickled down onto her face. His chest pressed into hers, pinning her to the stone hand. Their noses were nearly touching. "Too late," she sniffled, letting her hands carefully shift so she could hold onto his arms. "I'm stuck now, Gil."

He shook his head and tried to push back against the fingers that were in the process of crushing his lungs. "N-No, I'll… I'll save you, and-"

"If you're dead, I'll go with you," Lucy whispered. Her smile widened when he gaped at her. "Gildarts, I… I love you."

"You…"

"You're my b-best friend," she sniffled. "I've already lost one, and… I can't lose you. So if this is gonna kill you, then it'll take me too."

"Lucy…" He finally allowed himself to collapse entirely, winding his arms around her slender body and crushing her to his chest while he let out great, heaving sobs.

The fingers froze, and the only sound that could be heard in the echoing room was Gildarts as he cried into the Celestial mage's hair.

"You… are worthy," Anapa rumbled, drawing Lucy and Gildarts' attention as the hand holding them lifted higher and the jackal's jaw opened wide. They had no chance to prepare themselves as they were thrown into the air, with Lucy still clutching herself to the Crash mage, and the statue gobbled them up.

* * *

"Lushy's hugs _would_ save someone from being crushed," Happy giggled.

"Is that supposed to be a fat joke?" Lucy asked. She rolled her eyes when the blue Exceed simply shrugged, then held up her glass so Gildarts could take another sip of her smoothie.

"Mm, thanks Princess."

"One day, you'll stop calling me that."

"Never," he grinned.

"So what happened after the statue ate you guys?" Natsu asked.

Cobra's eye stayed glued to Lucy as Gildarts recounted the tale of leading her through the maze of a pyramid, how she'd taken the clues he gave her and solved the riddles so they didn't nearly fucking _die_ every time.

He lost track of the story somewhere around there, because he was too busy waiting for her to look around the guild. To search for him. To _think_ about him again.

But she didn't think about Cobra or Erik, not that he heard. She didn't look away from Gildarts, Natsu, Makarov, or the few others who came by the bar. Kinana was busy in the kitchen, so Lucy had yet to see her, either.

Gildarts let out a low chuckle and his arm curled around Lucy's shoulders, bringing her just a little closer. "Hey, I promised we'd be back for your birthday, didn't I?"

Lucy stuck her tongue out at him. "You also promised we'd be back for Christmas and New Years, and-" She sent him a playful glare when he covered her mouth with his hand.

"Well, I kept this one," he grinned. "And as a bribe, I'll rub your back later on."

"You've got a deal!"

And all Cobra could wonder, as he sat there in silence, waiting for Lucy to look at him just _once_... was whether this was just how things would always be between them. Would she always just ignore him? Had she moved on so completely that she'd forgotten just how much she'd really meant to him all those years ago?

In an instant, Gajeel's worried crimson eyes filled Cobra's vision, and he was lifting the Poison Slayer from the seat and leading him out through a back door of the guild. Cobra missed the concern etched on Lucy's face when she caught sight of his hunched, quivering shoulders beneath Gajeel's arm just before the two Slayers disappeared down a hallway.

"Breathe, Erik," Gajeel whispered. "Ya gotta breathe, man."

"Wh-What-"

Gajeel sat him down on the bleachers as soon as they were out of the guild and in the training area, then immediately pulled Cobra into his arms. The maroon-haired Slayer didn't hug him back, but that wasn't the point. "Ya started cryin'..."

"I-I…"

"Talk to me, Erik," Gajeel whispered against his hair. "Is this about Bunny Girl?"

He couldn't speak. His throat clogged with emotion that welled up out of nowhere, and all at once, Cobra found himself nodding and his hands curling into Gajeel's shirt. He could only guess this was what Shunsui had told him about during one of his last sessions though. That after Lucy was back, because he was finally allowing himself to actually _feel_ things as they came instead of bottling everything up, he might have a hard time of it all.

Shunsui didn't know how Cobra would react one way or another, but the Poison Slayer was definitely glad that he'd confided in Gajeel and asked the Iron Slayer to help him if something like this happened.

"Sh-She hates me n-now!"

"Nah, y'know Bunny doesn't hate anyone," Gajeel chuckled. His hands rubbed slow, soothing circles over Cobra's back. "But when she's ready to talk to ya, I think she'll come and do just that. It's been two years…"

Cobra nodded, but that did nothing to stop him from crying until he'd fallen asleep, with Gajeel still holding him.

Rogue slipped out of the shadows and silently walked over to his husband, staring down at Cobra with the tanned Slayer's therapy notebook in his hands. "Gajeel, he's starting to obsess over Lucy."

"Y'know why," Gajeel frowned. "He's just missin' her and feelin' guilty. Give her some time to sort herself out, now that she's back. After a little while, if she hasn't come to talk to him about all this shit, then we'll sit them down and _make_ 'em talk it out."

"It would be good for both of them," Rogue sighed. "I'll get back inside to watch the kids."

"Who knew you'd be so great with brats?" Gajeel chuckled.

"... I married _you_ , Gajeel. It was a given."

"Oh, fuck you," the Iron Slayer snorted into the gentle kiss Rogue pressed to his lips. "Snarky little shitbox, I'll… Mmm…" He moaned when Rogue kissed him again. "Okay, one more and you can go…"

"If you kiss one more time while I'm right fucking here, I'm killing both of you," Cobra grumbled.

* * *

Lucy hummed to herself and walked along the little bridge leading to Gildarts' house, her stomach rumbling as she smelled the pastries and coffee she'd bought for them on the way. The morning was bright, and she hadn't really wanted to get up in the first place, but they had somewhere to be and she'd promised to be Gildarts' alarm clock so they could travel to Crocus together and support their friends competing in the Grand Magic Games.

She shuffled the styrofoam carrier holding their drinks to her other hand and knocked. Silence met her, not that she was really expecting him to answer.

Just in case he was barely awake, in that weird limbo state where he couldn't decide whether he was hearing something in a dream, she knocked again.

Still silent.

So, Lucy pulled out the key he'd given her the day before and unlocked the door, then made her way inside. She ignored the lump that she knew was Gildarts on the bed and walked over to his wobbly table to set everything down, then smiled while turning back toward the bed.

What Lucy hadn't been expecting was to see a naked blue-haired woman with deeply tanned skin sprawled across his equally naked body, with the blanket barely covering either of them. The woman let out a quiet hum as the scent of food drifted through the air. She rolled off of Gildarts and rubbed her eyes, smearing her makeup a little more than sleep and their nighttime activities had, then opened them to find Lucy smiling and shaking her head where it was pressed against her palm.

The woman screamed, waking up Gildarts in an instant and sending Lucy into a fit of helpless giggles.

"Wha… Huh?" Gildarts sat up as the blanket was wrenched away from him, looking around in bewilderment.

"Who the hell are you?" the woman shrieked, trying to cover herself and glaring at the laughing blonde.

"Lucy?" Gildarts frowned, rubbing his eyes. "What…"

"Rise and shine, Gil," she laughed before turning her attention to the woman once again. "Sorry about that. My name's Lucy, I'm his-"

"Wow, asshole," the woman spat. "You're married?!"

"What? No!" Gildarts shouted.

"No," Lucy laughed. "I'm his partner."

"Same thing!" she sneered.

"Uh…"

Lucy rolled her eyes and showed off the Fairy Tail guild mark that had been engraved into her metal hand when she'd commissioned it from Marty, and the bright pink emblem that Master Makarov had stamped over the engraving to give her a real guild mark once again. "I mean we're in Fairy Tail," she laughed. Really, this was just too awkward _not_ to laugh about. "I'm on his team… I think. Gil, we never talked about that, actually."

He flopped back onto the bed and rubbed a hand over his face. "Later… Too tired."

"What the hell are you doing here?" the woman asked, relaxing only slightly.

"Well, he asked me to come wake him up so we could go to Crocus for the Games tomorrow," Lucy shrugged. "I come bearing breakfast and coffee, but… he has company, so…"

Gildarts peeked around… Annie, maybe?... to look at Lucy again. "Lucy…"

She shook her head and forced a small smile at the concern etched on his face. "You guys enjoy," she said. "I'll be at the train station. We'll get the tickets whenever you show up, so don't worry about hurrying."

Before he could say anything, she was gone, gently closing and locking the door behind her and making her way back down the path.

"That was fucking weird," Jessica (or was it Julia) muttered. "Does she _always_ do things like that?"

Gildarts shrugged. Really, he had no idea if Lucy did things like that on a regular basis. When they were travelling together, he always had his own room in the beginning, and they would simply meet at a nearby shop for breakfast once he was awake. As time wore on, they stopped getting separate rooms, and simply slept in separate beds. Every once in a while, when they were in a town for a change, they slept in the same bed. But when he brought a woman back, Lucy had never barged in like this before.

Then again, she'd always _known_ there was a woman with Gildarts before. For having been caught off-guard, she handled it pretty damn well.

Except, as he laid there and listened to Nadine (or Nadia? Natalie?) stand and make her way to the bathroom, Gildarts felt like an ass. Because he'd known for quite some time that Lucy really cared about him as something more than just friends. And he wanted to be with her more than anything, but he couldn't. Because she still needed time. She needed to search, to date, to just go out and be with someone instead of jumping from loving Cobra to wanting to be with him.

Trixie walked out of his bathroom in her clothes from the night before, then grabbed a cup of coffee and a pastry from the bag before making her way to the door. She paused once it was open and looked at Gildarts over her shoulder. "Thanks for a good night," she said.

And then she was gone.

He moved on autopilot as soon as he was alone, hobbling over to the bathroom and getting a shower, putting on his prosthetics. Eating the breakfast Lucy had brought, drinking his coffee. And making sure his bag was packed for their week-long trip to Crocus.

By the time Gildarts really knew what he was doing, he and Lucy were sitting on the train together. Her nose was buried in a book where she sat across the compartment from him.

"Lucy?"

"Are you talking to me now?" she whispered.

He frowned in confusion when she didn't look up at him. "Huh?"

"You've been a grumpy gus all morning." She turned the page and continued reading. "I apologized for barging in, but you ignored me. You can have your key back, by the way. I didn't mean to overstep any boundaries."

"You don't need to do that," he said.

"Whatever."

With a heavy sigh, he moved to sit beside her, placing his hand over her book to block the text from her narrowed eyes. "I'm not mad at you."

"Sure seems that way."

"I swear," he whispered. "I'm not. If anything, I'll understand if you're mad at _me_ for finding… someone in my bed."

"We're not in a relationship, Gil," she shrugged. "We're just friends, so you can do whatever you want." She really didn't want to sound jealous, but it just hurt. Once again, she had feelings for someone who just didn't want her. Once again, she was stuck watching the man she desired going after anyone who wasn't _her_.

"We're not just friends," he said. She stayed silent as he placed a bookmark between the pages and closed her book, then grabbed her hands. "Your old team kinda fell apart after a while."

"Gray sleeping with Lisanna while she and Natsu were still together kinda put a damper on morale," she nodded. Now, Natsu was in a very strange relationship with Erza. No one was sure exactly what the two saw in each other, or if they were even a romantic couple in the first place. It was odd, to say the least. Eventually Natsu and Gray had fought it out over Lisanna, then made up. Just like they always did. Still the team had never been the same after that.

"And you mentioned that we never really discussed partnering up after that job was done," he said.

"Right. Sorry about calling myself your-"

"Will you be my partner, Lucy?" he asked, smiling when her mouth shut with an audible pop. "I loved having someone with me, and we had so much fun on that job together."

"Gil… I don't know…"

"You can take some time to think about it," he said, knocking his shoulder against hers. "But I just wanted you to know that I _want_ to have a partner. I've never had one before."

"Because you're the great Gildarts Clive," she smirked. "You don't need a partner."

"I needed you on that job," he said. "I would have died if you weren't there."

"I'm sure you would've managed somehow."

"Just think about it. If I'm gonna have a partner, I want it to be you, Lucy. No one else." He knew one of her biggest issues was feeling like someone actually wanted her. Not just romantically, but in general. After Team Natsu dissolved, Lucy still went on missions with others in the guild, but she'd confided in him what her own father had done in the past. How it had made her constantly question her worth to those around her.

And he knew for a fact that everything with Cobra over the years had only reinforced that lowered view of herself. That she was always second-best. Never the first choice.

"... I don't know, Gil… I think you could find a better partner than me."

"There's no one better than you, Princess," he said. He knew she didn't believe him, but Gildarts was determined to make Lucy see that she really was worth a whole lot more than the "nothing" she claimed herself to be.

* * *

Three weeks went by in a flash after Lucy and Gildarts returned, and the two happily watched their guildmates compete in the Games. Fairy Tail came in second place that year, with Sabertooth taking the win by a single point. And by the time they'd returned to Magnolia, a new team had been formed. Team Crash. Lucy apparently loved the name, and Gildarts said she was guilty of just as much damage as him with the sheer force of her kicks.

Cobra kept going to his appointments with Shunsui, his counseling sessions with Kinana and Jushiro, taking short missions that he could finish in a day or two. He would spend time with his children at the guild, hang out with the other Slayers. It felt like he really had it all.

With the exception of seeing Lucy from time to time, simply sitting at the bar with Gildarts and convincing the older man (every single day) that he needed to take better care of himself (he was an adult, he should be fully capable of it), and that just toast was not a real breakfast (he could at least add some egg whites to keep an eye on his cholesterol), and she did _not_ spend two years cooking for his bumbling (adorable) self just for him to keel over after they'd been in Magnolia for five minutes, all because she wasn't there every second of the day (like she really wanted to be) to make sure he eats properly.

God, Cobra really hadn't realized just how much he'd missed hearing Lucy's inner monologue in its entirety until right then.

And then it happened. She turned and looked right at him, plain for anyone to see, and she smiled. That same Lucy smile he remembered from years ago when he hadn't done a damn thing to deserve it.

' _An eye patch… It suits him though. I wonder how the kids are doing…'_

"Gil, I'll be back," Lucy whispered. "I've got something to do."

Gildarts glanced over his shoulder, following Lucy's line of sight toward Cobra, then nodded. "Sure thing, Princess. And _yes_ I'll have Mira make me the Geezer special."

"Just some egg whites, Gil. You love egg whites."

"Because you steal my yolks!"

"Because you literally _never_ eat them!" Lucy shook her head when he grinned at her. "Hopeless," she laughed. "Absolutely hopeless!"

"Probably. Go on, I'll still be here. My rickety bones don't feel like moving all that much today."

"Dork." She slid from the barstool and made her way across the hall toward Cobra, then paused once she was standing next to his table. "So…"

"So…" he muttered, still staring at her in surprise. He'd honestly thought she wouldn't ever want to be near him again.

"Would it be alright if we talked somewhere that's not right here?" Lucy asked. She could _feel_ Mira watching her from the bar, waiting for something to happen. Besides, it had been so long since she'd just had a conversation with Cobra, where they sat down and just caught up with one another.

"Yeah," he whispered. "That… I-I'd really like that…"

Her brows pushed together while he stood and closed the notebook he'd been writing in. That didn't sound like the Cobra she remembered. But maybe things had changed in the two years she'd been gone. Lucy knew for a fact that _she_ had changed in that time.

They walked together out to the training grounds, the same place they'd always gone before when they wanted to have a little more privacy.

As soon as they were seated, the blonde found Cobra's hand hesitantly covering hers. With a small smile, she laced their fingers together and looked up into his eye. "So…"

"I missed you," he whispered.

Lucy blinked in surprise, and simply waited when he cursed and ran a hand over his face.

"I mean… I'm glad you're back. The guild's missed you."

"I've missed the guild," she said. "But, I've missed you too, Cobra."

"... You did?"

"Yeah, but… Things are different now." Her metal hand came up to rest over his, the fingers curling around his tanned flesh. When he frowned down at her hands in confusion, Lucy found herself letting out a sad laugh. Some best friends they were. He didn't even know what it was like to feel her metal hand.

"Different's usually good…"

"Sometimes," she nodded. "But…"

"I know you were in love with me, Lucy," he said after taking a shaky breath. "And I should have talked to you about it. But I was scared…"

"... Scared? Of what?"

"I didn't want my best friend to disappear. I thought if I said anything, brought it up, that you'd get so embarrassed by it… and you'd never talk to me again."

"Cobra, I should have gotten over it when you and Kinana-"

"No," he said. "We were together in secret. Four whole fucking months, I was dating her and I never told you."

"Seriously?" she laughed.

He nodded and chewed his lips again. This was good, he knew that much. Shunsui had been telling him that a real conversation with Lucy was necessary. It had been too long since they'd talked and she deserved this. _He_ deserved this. "I'm… I'm sorry that I didn't think about your feelings in this…"

"Whoa," Lucy chuckled. "Cobra, apologizing? What's going on with you?" Her smile faltered a moment later when he lifted the eye patch that he still wore and showed her the mangled space that had once been where his closed eyelid had been. He lifted her metal hand and pressed her fingers to the socket.

"Not a lot of good shit," he said. "I tried to kill myself."

"Cobra!"

"I told Kina and our marriage counselor, and she just… She listened while we were there, but then it all went back to more of the same. And I couldn't take it, so I got a gun and…" His head tipped back and he pointed to the knotted scar in the roof of his mouth. "Right there."

"But… why?"

"Because I love my wife," he whispered. "And things have been falling apart for years, but I keep trying to fix them… And all I do is worry about her and the kids, but never about myself. They're more important…"

"You know that's not true," she said gently. "You're just as important as everyone else."

"That's not how I saw it," he said. "But, I'm… I'm getting better now, I guess."

"You're seeing a therapist?" Lucy asked, sighing in relief when he nodded.

"I should have done a lot of shit differently," Cobra whispered. "And I dragged you along and hurt you, and-"

"Cobra, stop." She gently squeezed his hand and smiled when his eye shot up to meet with hers. "I'm not in love with you, and I don't blame you for the past ten years, okay?"

"But…"

"No," she whispered. "It hurt, but I perpetuated that pain by not _letting_ myself move on. I forced myself to watch you both. I _made_ myself keep loving you, because I kept thinking all the things we did as friends… I thought it meant something more than that."

"It could have," he said. "I thought you were gonna ask me out, y'know."

"Yeah, well I was too late for that," she laughed. "But it's all in the past now."

"C-Can you… Can you forgive me for being a shitty friend?"

"You were _never_ a shitty friend, but… Sure. As long as you'll forgive me for not cunt-punting you for this allegedly shitty friend-ness." And as soon as Cobra snorted, it quickly grew into a full laugh that Lucy had genuinely missed.

She still did love him, but it wasn't romantic. He was just nakama now, just another guy in the guild, just like he'd always been. And still, she wasn't really sure just what it had been that pushed her to realize that her feelings for the Poison Dragon Slayer had changed. Maybe she was never going to know, but that was fine by her. Because now she could at least look at him without wanting to cry. She could talk to him, hold his hand, just _laugh_ with Cobra once again.

Being away from Fairy Tail for the past two years was really what she'd needed to find a way to move on.

"I'm glad to hear that," he sniffled. All he wanted was for them to be friends again, but he wasn't going to push that on her right then. Not when this was the first time they'd talked in so long. He had to take baby steps.

Her fingers brushed across his scarred cheek, then into his hair. And finally, Lucy just decided to go with her gut. His eye widened, and then she saw the first tear spilling over and down his cheek while he nodded in agreement, just as her arms wound around him and her head rested on his shoulder.

Just a simple hug, but Cobra held her tightly to him, just like he did all those years ago before things got complicated. He loved it though. Hearing her soul so close again, smelling her shampoo - even if she did smell a little like Gildarts now from how often they spent time together - and feeling her tears soaking into his shirt just as his did the same.

"I've got some presents to deliver later on," Lucy whispered. "Can I stop by with them?"

"Presents?"

She smiled and nodded, then finally pulled back to look up at him. "Two years worth of birthdays and Christmases to make up for. Those kids of yours are just too cute for words."

"Kina and I should be home with them around six for dinner," he said. "I should check with her though."

"Whenever works for you guys," Lucy whispered. "I'm free for a month or so."

"Just a month?"

Lucy shrugged and smiled when he pulled her back into another hug. "Gildarts asked if I wanted to go on another job with him."

"You guys just got back…"

"Well, I might be able to convince him to stay a little longer."

"Not because of me," he winced. "Please… I mean, I… Well…"

"No," Lucy giggled. "A little because of you, but I miss the guild too, Cobra. And he should spend some time with Cana before running out of here again."

"Yeah…" They sat in silence for several minutes before he sighed and readjusted his eye patch. "Do you think it'll ever be like it was?"

"You mean, us being friends?"

"Yeah…"

"No." She smiled and gently grasped his hand while pulling back from the hug to look into his eye. "Things will never be like they were. We're older now, maybe a little wiser. Possibly smarter."

"I guess," he chuckled.

"So, I think… we can work on being friends as the people we are now. Fresh start…"

Cobra found himself laughing when Lucy abruptly stood up and turned to face him, smoothing her hands over her hair and silk blouse. She stuck out one hand and gave him a brilliant smile, filled with warmth.

As soon as he set his hand in hers, Lucy said, "Hey, I'm Lucy. I forgive everyone and I used to be in love with my best friend. Also, I have an addiction to healthy food and strawberries. I'm never giving up on being a novelist. My partner now is Gildarts, and he's a total dork but I don't know where I'd be if it wasn't for him."

"Erik," he said, his smile widening when she blinked in surprise. "I'm not Cobra anymore, because that guy was a bastard who hurt his best friend. I've got a wife and three kids, and they're my reason for living. I don't aspire to be anything other than a good dad and husband, because the last time I tried that, I ended up locking someone who really didn't deserve it in a fishy clock to end the world. I used to work solo, but Gajeel teamed up with me to help out after my suicide attempt. Also… I eat rat poison on my pancakes."

"Since when do you eat pancakes?" Lucy laughed. God, so much had changed since they'd last talked.

"I could ask you the same thing about _healthy_ food," he snorted. He paused and cocked his head to one side for a moment, then turned a wide smile to his son as the boy darted out of the back door of the guild, with Kinana following behind holding their twin daughters' hands.

"Papa! You go'a watch dis!" The boy paused and stared at Lucy's metal hand in Cobra's. "Who are…"

' _He's gotten so big! Oh my god, they make the cutest kids ever! Jace, I remember when you were born… Looks so much like his father, much more than when he was a baby. I wonder if he's shown any magic yet…'_

Lucy bent down and smiled while Jace followed her every move, then extended her hand to him. "You probably don't remember me," she said softly. "But I'm-"

"Lucy," Jace whispered with a confused frown. "Papa's bes' friend… He missed you…"

She nodded and looked up at Kinana once the purple-haired barmaid came to stand beside Cobra. "Well, I was on a long job with my other friend. And I missed your dad too, Jace. And you and your sisters."

"And Mama?"

Her smile widened and she nodded. " _Especially_ your Mama. Did you know her smoothies are better than Mira's? But don't tell Mira that…"

Jace giggled then looked at his father again. "Her soul's pretty rainbow, Papa. Wan' see?"

All the adults blinked in surprise while staring down at the little boy. Jace grabbed Lucy's hand, then lifted his free hand and extended it toward the training grounds. A bright cone of multi-colored light shot from his fingers, swirling around on the ground and taking form of various people in the guild, laughing, singing and dancing.

"Jace, be careful with that," Cobra said softly. "Don't listen to her memories…"

"Uh…" Lucy mumbled. "Wh-What is this?"

"Jackson got a combination of my Soul magics," Cobra said. "He can hear them and see the colors for people's emotions. And he's been learning to control what he sees to make illusions with them, so he can show someone what he and I normally _hear_."

"Tha's my magic," Jace laughed. "Your soul's pretty… The blue is old and the yellow's new."

"Blue?" Kinana asked.

"Sad," Lucy smiled. "Is that right?" When Jace nodded enthusiastically, she tightened her grip on his hand. "Yes, Jace. I'm not sad anymore. I'm happy now."

The light coiled around itself on the ground and created a wide circle in the air before the group. A soft shimmer of silver wriggled from one edge to the other before revealing an image of Lucy sitting in a hot spring, leaning against the wall with her hair tied in a messy bun atop her head.

"J-Jace," Kinana sputtered. "Leave that alone…"

"But it's her extra happy mem'ry," he giggled. "I wanna see…"

 _#_

Lucy hummed in contentment as her sore muscles soaked in the heat from the spring. Movement by her side drew her attention, and the blonde smiled when she saw Gildarts sitting on the edge of the spring with his metal leg already removed, still in the process of taking off his arm.

"If I was missing a leg, we'd make one full robot and one full human," she giggled.

"Very funny," he chuckled. "Wanna help me get this off?"

She turned and pressed herself against his towel-clad thigh while reaching up with her only hand to loosen the buckle around his shoulder. With the two of them working together, they managed to remove the metallic arm with ease, and he placed it beside his leg and her own, smaller prosthetic.

Gildarts slid in beside her and instantly settled his half-arm into the scalding water. "So, Princess, how are you enjoying our post-mission, 'we survived a cursed tomb complete with mummies and flesh-eating scarabs' celebration?"

Lucy sat back on her heels and reached forward to gently pull Gildarts' amputated arm up onto her shoulder. With only one hand, she massaged the colder than normal flesh, bringing one handful of water up to it at a time to slowly warm the muscles again. "It's pretty much everything I wanted it to be."

"Pretty much?"

Lucy stuck her tongue out, laughing as his arm slipped out of her grasp and she was pulled closer. Steaming water splashed as he pulled her sideways into his lap. She knew by looking at his smile that he was going to tickle her. He always did it when she had no way of defending herself. Especially when she'd taken her arm off for the night, because he was less likely to get a split lip from her clocking him.

Except, this time he didn't. His hand curved around her waist and drew her closer. Lucy's cheeks flushed even further than the water could manage as he brought their foreheads together.

"And what's missing from our celebration?" Her mouth opened and closed several times, and his smile fell just a little while he drew back from her. "Sorry," he whispered. "I'm in your bubble."

"No…" Lucy's hand slid up his bare chest, brushing through the soft hairs over his sternum, when he tried to help her move away from him. "It's okay."

"But you still-"

"No," she smiled, "I don't know when it happened but… I don't feel that way anymore."

"Don't replace him with me," Gildarts whispered. "You say you don't feel it now, but… Give it time, okay?"

Lucy nodded in understanding then laid her head on his chest. "Thanks for helping me, Gil."

"Eh, I just did what anyone in the guild would have done."

"No, you did something much more than that. You gave me the same gift I gave you…" She looked up into his eyes again while shifting her head to his shoulder.

"You'll never be alone again, Lucy," he said. "I promise you that."

"Can I make the same promise then?" she asked.

"Probably better if you don't," he smirked. "I know how serious-"

"I promise, Gildarts, you'll never be alone again."

"Damn, I should've seen that one coming," he laughed.

"Better get your eyes checked…"

"Bifocals, here I come!"

Lucy laughed and sat up in his lap. "Swear to me you'll get a monocle. You'll be the most distinguished bastard in the guild!"

"Monocle it is!" he laughed.

 _#_

"Gildarts, I swear to god, if you touch that book!"

"I'm not gonna touch it!" he shouted, but his hand still stretched closer to the wall of fire obscuring their target behind it. "Shit, make me stop!"

Lucy rolled her eyes and clambered onto his back.

"That's not gonna - OH MY GOD!" Gildarts stumbled back when her fingers locked onto his nipples and pinched with enough force to rip them from his poor, poor body. "Why?! L-Let go, you filthy wretch!"

Lucy bit her lips to stifle her laughter and twisted, sending the Crash mage howling as he dropped to his knees. She peeked over his shoulder to find tears on his lashes and his eyes clamped shut. "Sorry, Gil."

"Y-You're a monster!"

"I'm trying to save your arm here," she laughed. "At the cost of your nipples. I think you'll forgive me." She finally let go, and the two smiled when the fire wall disappeared. Before either mage could make a grab for the ancient book sitting on its pedestal a few feet away, the roof started sliding downward, the sounds of stone grating over itself filling the chamber.

"This is bullshit," Gildarts mumbled.

"All that's missing are some spike-" Lucy shrieked when he jumped away from where he stood, keeping her on his back, as several spikes shot up from the ground. "I quit! The tropes are real!"

"Right there with ya, Princess…"

 _#_

"Gildarts," Lucy called out while closing the door to their room behind her, holding the takeout bags on one arm and dropping her umbrella. She'd have to give it a proper shake later on so it could dry from the insane downpour that had overtaken Minstrel's capital. "I come bearing greasy food!"

Silence met her, even when she dumped everything on the table and looked around the room. No lights in the bathroom. "Did I mention I bought you porn?" she called out with a smile. "Where are you?"

She frowned while walking to the bathroom door and peeking inside. Not there. Then over to the beds. Not asleep.

Finally, she ventured toward the balcony of their room and found him curled up in a chair, barefoot and wearing the pajama pants she'd bought him two towns back, with his prosthetic leg on the floor and his other knee pulled to his chest. And a mostly empty bottle of whiskey in his hand, barely staying in place as he snored loud enough to rival the thunder clapping in the distance.

"Guess it's a bad day for you," Lucy whispered. She pulled the bottle away and set it on the table, then started shifting him so she could pull him up onto her back. It took a good bit of work, but eventually she dropped Gildarts onto the bed. She grabbed his metal leg from the balcony, then removed his arm and smiled while taking a seat next to him on the bed.

With the job done, they were just doing a little sight-seeing on their way back to Fiore.

Her fingers brushed through his hair, pulling it away from his closed eyes. Gildarts had told her to give herself time, but she knew that it wasn't something she needed.

She didn't need to date anyone else to know what she felt. And when she thought about it, she'd really been feeling this way, in bits and pieces, the longer they spent time together. She stood and put away the food in their small refrigerator, then took her clothes to the bathroom and got a quick shower.

By the time Lucy was back in the room, Gildarts had only rolled onto his back and sprawled even further across his bed.

And still, she ignored the bed that would have been hers - aside from taking the blanket from it - and curled up next to Gildarts, setting the blanket over both of them.

Once she was settled, with her head lying in the little hollow by his shoulder and his deteriorated arm brushing against her back, Gildarts rolled onto his side and then even further until he was lying almost completely on top of her.

"Snuggl… 'rinc'ss…"

"Oh my god," Lucy giggled. "Gil, wake up and get off of me."

"Mm… mmm…" A sleepy pout overtook his features while he held her just a little tighter.

"Fine," she whispered. "Just this once, but _only_ because I know you hate the rain…" After several minutes, her arm wrapped around him and she gently massaged his bare back. "Happy birthday, handsome."

 _#_

Jace giggled when the colors of Lucy's soul all shifted into shades of pink and yellow. "Your friend makes you happy," he crooned.

"That's enough of that," Cobra frowned. "You know better, Jackson."

Lucy squeezed the little boy's hand before he could pull away completely, looking down into his saddened eyes with a tender smile. "What does pink mean, Jace?"

His eyes cut over to Cobra, then to his mother, then back to Lucy. "I'm not s'posed to say the colors…"

Lucy bit her lip and kept her gaze on the young boy. _"Erik, can he tell me? I'm not upset about him learning more about his magic."_

"Go ahead," Cobra sighed.

Jace leaned forward and whispered into Lucy's ear as though it was a secret, something she hadn't already figured out for herself. "It means you love your friend like Papa loves Mama."

"Well, I'll keep that in mind," Lucy winked. "Thank you, Jace." She found herself laughing when he hesitated for only a moment, then lunged and wrapped his thin arms around her and tackled her to the ground in a crushing hug.

Cobra chuckled softly and pulled Kinana into his arms, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek. "She asked if she could bring presents for the kids sometime. Is tonight alright?"

"Tonight?" Kinana winced. "Can't it wait?"

"Sure. She said whenever works for us."

"I don't know, Erik…"

Cobra continued his quiet conversation with his wife, completely missing the soft-spoken comment from his son to Lucy.

"I'm glad you're back," Jace whispered. "Papa's blue turned black. And you made him yellow again… But… Mama's green now…"

"Well," Lucy whispered back, "You tell your Mama and Papa that I'm only yellow for them. No more pink, okay?" And in that moment, she could see so much more of Cobra in the boy than ever before. Even with Kinana's eye color, there was a certain striking keenness to his gaze, something that only Cobra had been able to perfect. It spoke of a much deeper understanding than the little boy should have really had.

"Mama?" Jace said while sitting up and looking toward his parents.

"Yes, sweetheart," Kinana said softly.

"Lucy's no' pink now… Only her other friend makes her pink…" He looked at Lucy for a second, watching as her cheeks flushed, then smiled. "And I think she makes him pink like that too…"

"That's enough of that, Jace," Cobra smirked. "Miss Lucy's head will explode if you keep that up."

"And then it would be grey," she nodded sagely. "I don't think we need to deal with brain goop everywhere." Lucy stood and ruffled her fingers through Jace's hair, then looked at Kinana, wrapped in Cobra's arms. "Just let me know when a good time is for you guys. I can bring them to the guild too, if that works better for you."

Kinana gave Lucy a soft, grateful smile. "Sure, Lucy. Today's just a little hectic."

"Not a problem," Lucy shrugged. "Later, guys." She gave Cobra and his family a short wave and made her way back into the guild, leaving Kinana staring after her with a small frown pulling down her lips.

"What is it, beautiful?" Cobra whispered. "You know I don't want you to sugarcoat shit…"

"Jace, go on inside and take your sisters," Kinana said. "Tell Uncle Laxus that Mama and Papa need to talk."

"Okay, Mama," Jace nodded.

Once the kids were out of earshot, Kinana drew back to look into Cobra's eye. "Tell me again that you don't love her like she loves you." She hated thinking this way about the Celestial mage, or that her husband would just up and leave her for the blonde, but it was so easy to believe that their marriage would fall apart.

"I'll tell you as many times as you want or need to hear it," he said. "I love _you_ with all my heart, Kina. Lucy's just Lucy, and nothing in the world will change how I feel about her or you. She's nakama, but you're my soulmate."

She let out a slow breath and looked toward the guild when Cobra pulled her into a tender hug. Jushiro had been telling her that she needed to really evaluate the jealousy she'd been feeling ever since Lucy came back from her mission. And Kinana knew what it stemmed from.

She was terrified of being left alone again. She remembered how it had been after Cobra left her, when she was still a snake, how scared she'd been. How alone. And even though they'd been together for so long now, even after years of him proving his commitment to her again and again, she still struggled trusting him to stick with her for good.

But when she thought about Lucy, the object of her unease, Kinana realized that the blonde really had moved on. She didn't seem sad any longer, but happy. Content. There was no dark cloud looming over Lucy, dimming her smile and pushing her into the background of the guild. She just seemed to be freer, somehow, but maybe it was because of what Jace had said.

She wasn't _blue_ , but _yellow_. And there was a certain Crash mage in the guild that made Lucy positively _pink_.

"I'll never leave, Kina. I made you a promise, and I intend to keep it."

"I'm sorry, Erik," she whispered. "I'm probably not making things easy for you…"

"It's okay-"

"No, it's not…" She looked up into his saddened indigo eye, then gently brushed her fingers through his hair. "No more discounting your own importance. Thinking about your own feelings won't turn you back into Cobra."

"That's… Kina, that's not it…"

"Then help me understand it," she whispered. "Because I can't watch you lying in a hospital again, after you try to end it all. You promised you wouldn't leave, but suicide is the same thing, Erik."

"But I'm better now."

"And I want to keep it that way." Kinana took a shaky breath while wrapping her arms tightly around him. "I've done a lot over the years to screw with our relationship without realizing it, and I never even realized it was hurting you. I-I was selfish, Erik. But we have children to think about, and I can't be the reason they lose their Papa."

"Should I call up Jushiro?" he whispered. "This sounds like some shit he'd wanna hear about."

"Yeah… In a little bit, maybe."

Cobra's lips curled into a devious smile as he lifted her chin. His lips barely grazed hers as he whispered, "I don't think I've heard _that_ in a while…"

When her cheeks flared to life, his smile only widened. His hands drifted down to the swell of her hips as he took one careful step backwards after another, leading her behind the bleachers. There were plenty of places they could go where they wouldn't be seen, and he knew for a fact that no one would be coming out to the training grounds for a good while. Which meant he had more than enough time to be with his wife.

"Right here, Kina?"

She gasped when Cobra slammed her into a thick, wooden beam, his hands and lips and tongue making quick work of unravelling her senses. Desire pooled in her lower belly, sending white streaks of fire through her trembling fingers as they gripped his maroon hair and pulled him closer. "Give me Cobra," she rasped. "Dokuryuu no Cobra..."

"Oh, damn it all to hell," he growled. There was no preamble as his hand slipped beneath her dress, pushed her panties to the side, and his fingers plunged into her sex. He'd been trying so hard to be the good guy for so long that he'd forgotten how much Kinana loved when he let loose with her. When he ripped cries of ecstasy from her kiss-swollen lips until she was lying, breathless and quivering, panting only the name he'd been given by Brain all those years ago. "Is my sexy Mama gonna be Cubellios, now?"

"Yes," she whimpered, making quick work of his pants and pushing them down just enough for him to take her. "Just for you..." She couldn't remember the last time they'd been like this. Just so ready for each other, wanting to be connected in some way, desperate to feel one another falling apart.

"Too long, Cu… Fuck, you're…" Cobra's eye rolled back as he lined himself up and sank into her heat. "Sh-Shit, you're still so tight!" His lips covered hers once again, muting her pleasured cries as his hips snapped at a relentless pace.

"I-I love you, Cobra…"

"Oh, fuck… I love you, Cubellios…"

* * *

Lucy sat at the bar with Cana, laughing over Vijeeter's most recent apprentice as the young teen tried to mimic his idol's overly flexible movements. "Twenty Jewels that Brixon falls flat on his ass," Lucy giggled.

"That's not even a fair bet," Cana snorted. "Brixon _always_ falls."

"Fine," Lucy said. "Brixon falls and knocks over Elfman's card house."

"Deal. He's gonna break his ankle."

"You two are ridiculous…" Cobra sent the two women a smirk when they both stuck out their tongues at him. "Obviously Brixon is gonna trip over those untied laces of his. He's going face-first into Erza's cake."

"You're on, snake charmer," Cana laughed. The three sat in silence after that, with Cana chugging from her barrel, Cobra sipping on his eggnog laced with cyanide, and Lucy waiting on Kinana to bring her a fresh smoothie. They waited. And waited.

And just when it was clear that Brixon was losing his fight with gravity, the doors to the guild exploded and sent the poor Dance mage flying into the air in an unnaturally graceful arch that sent him careening right into the top of the guild's Christmas tree.

And while everyone watched Brixon screech and pray that his britches held long enough for Pantherlily to fly up and bring him back down to safety from where he was perched on the tree topper, Lucy slipped from her place between Cobra and Cana and walked through the little cubed remnants of door. Toward the grinning, snow-covered Crash mage who'd been called away from the S Class trials the week before on an emergency mission.

As soon as Lucy was within arm's reach, and still moving closer even while he shook the white flakes from his cloak, Gildarts chuckled and drew her into a chilled hug. "There's my Princess."

"Try _S Class_ Princess," she grinned. "I had to fight Erik."

"And the cheeky shit-stick started doing the funky chicken until I nearly pissed myself!" Cobra shouted across the guild.

"Then I gave him the Gildarts Nipple-Twist."

"You're a monster," Gildarts chuckled while running his hands over her back. "But, as a sorry for not being here for my beautiful partner's party…"

Lucy shrieked when Gildarts' hand slipped under the back of her sweater and the freezing metal pressed into her skin. "Gil, no!"

"Oh, you're so warm!" he laughed. She squealed and wriggled in his grasp, sending small flurries wisping to the floor while the blonde turned one way and another to get away from him.

"Down, Tinman!" Lucy giggled. "Oh my god, you're freezing!"

"I know," he crooned. Gildarts pushed his other hand under her sweater and soaked in the warmth from her stomach while Lucy turned and pressed her back against his chest. "Warm me up, Princess."

"Hey, get your dirty old hands off of Lucy!" Cana shouted from the bar. She took another swig from her barrel and sent the two a drunken, sloppy grin. "Or get a room already!"

"C-Cana, not helping!" She didn't even bat an eye over the fact that his hands were moving over her old scars. For years, Lucy had been self-conscious about them, but all that time spent with him had made her pretty much immune to his touch giving her the bad kind of shivers.

No, instead, it was from the cold. And from the fact that it was Gildarts touching her in the first place. She turned to face him again and lifted her hands to his chilly, flushed cheeks, then pulled him down into a melting kiss that had Gildarts going deathly still. It had been a ploy to get him to stop freezing her, but Lucy was also damn tired of waiting for something to change between them. For months, they'd been an official team. For nearly a year, he'd known she wanted to be with him. And Lucy wasn't going to make the same mistake again, waiting too long to go for what she wanted. For what she damn well _deserved_.

She felt his lips twitch against hers, his fingers just before they slipped down from under her shirt to the swell of her ass. And then everything, every thought or worry or fear she'd had about taking the initiative and kissing him, disappeared when he kissed her back.

It wasn't a thing like her first kiss with Gildarts, when they'd been celebrating Christmas and New Years in Stella. This time, all she could see behind her closed lids were fireworks and meteor showers. Fanfares and full symphonic orchestras belted out their melodies so loudly to the beat of her pounding heart that she didn't even hear the soft moan from Gildarts as his tongue slipped between her lips. Lucy could swear doves were chirping in dewy baths somewhere in her skull.

Neither of them heard the rounds of cheers from their guild mates, or the passing of Jewels as bets were made good on. Or the quiet dry heaving of the younger, newer generation that was silenced in an instant by a single-eyed glare from the Poison Dragon Slayer - who managed to somehow look _more_ intimidating with his twin toddler daughters clinging to his legs.

Their lips separated and Lucy found herself mirroring Gildarts' slap-happy grin with one of her own.

All sound in the guild came to a crashing halt when the blonde sent her metal fist sailing into Gildarts' head, throwing him off balance and to the ground with Lucy giggling as she fell right along with him.

There was a pregnant pause before Natsu whooped and jumped onto his table. "I win! Luce punched him after they kissed!"

"What?!" Gray shouted. "Why the hell would you place a bet on that?!"

"Because Luce is a badass!"

Erza clapped a hand on Natsu's shoulder, giving the Fire Slayer a proud smile. "That she is, Natsu. I'm proud to give you my money."

"Technically, it's still your money," Mira laughed while setting another cake in front of Erza, with a second fork for the Requip mage's Dragon Slayer husband to sneak a few bites. She still couldn't believe they'd eloped three months before Lucy and Gildarts came back from their job, and no one had known a thing about it until Thanksgiving.

"Yes, and Natsu is nice enough to already have promised me a new Heart Kreuz armor with some of his new funds."

Gray and Mira turned to gape at the salmon-haired Slayer, whose wide, infectious grin was still in place while Cana tallied his winnings. "What? The one she wants reminds me of Igneel." It was just more of a bikini than full armor. With the bottoms only having a small triangle of deep crimson scales that met in the back with nothing more than string. The frilled material on her hips reminded him of wings though, and when Erza had tried it on, Natsu had very nearly burnt the store to the ground in his need to be inside of her.

"Oh for fuck's sake," Cobra snorted. "Stop picturing it, you pervert…" He paused and grinned at the sudden flush on Erza's cheeks. "Also, gimme the name of your craftsman because…"

"Oh," Kinana giggled while walking past with a tray full of food. "Erza gave me that two weeks ago… Merry Christmas, Erik. I was hoping to surprise you with it."

Cobra blinked several times while staring at his wife, then sent his gaze skyward as a serene smile curled his lips. "There is a god…"

Gildarts rubbed a hand over his jaw, still smiling as he gazed up at Lucy. "What was that for?"

"Chilly hands," she whispered.

"Good swing."

"Better kiss."

"Care for another?" he chuckled.

"Only if you'll take me out for Christmas dinner."

"Reservations are already set for seven tonight." His smile widened when Lucy blinked in surprise, the corners of his eyes crinkling with mirth. "I made you a promise," he whispered while brushing his fingers through the ends of her hair. "I'd be back to celebrate Christmas with you, and New Years. And I was hoping…"

A bright flush filled Lucy's cheeks when his thumb slid across her lower lip.

"Maybe you'd let me take you somewhere special after we have a nice romantic dinner, so I could give you some awkward speech about how much I really love you and that I don't want to waste my time with women like Marlene or Kara or Janet or whatever their names are… because I've never felt more alive than these last few years just being your friend."

"So… we don't need to go somewhere special after dinner then?" Lucy giggled. "You just… told me."

"... Oh… Um… W-Well…"

She rolled her eyes and shook her head while pulling him up to sit. The fact that they were on the floor of the guild went right over their heads, just like the wide-eyed stares they were getting from everyone who could hear them.

"So, you believe me now?" she whispered. "About not replacing him with you?"

"Kiss me again, Princess. I think I might've forg - _Mmm_ …"

He didn't care in the slightest that Lucy crashed into him and knocked him back onto the ground. His back might be a little sore later that day, but it didn't matter one bit. Not when she was kissing him. Not when her fingers tangled in his hair and her leg slid over his prosthetic.

"Stop kissing my dad, Lucy!" Cana shouted, still smiling.

"If she has Gildarts' babies, that means Cana will be a big sister," Happy snickered.

"Lord help us all," Bickslow laughed. He ducked the empty barrel the Card mage threw at him, a wide grin splitting his lips when it flew into Elfman's hand just as he set the final cards on his little house.

"NO!" Elfman bellowed, staring in horror at the strewn deck.

Mira hummed and ducked under the flying table while taking pictures of the newly blossoming couple as they kissed and cuddled and laughed to themselves just inside the guild's still-destroyed doors, utterly oblivious to the brawl happening around them and the snowy flurries sweeping in from outside. Well, that was what she'd thought until Gildarts rolled Lucy onto her back just before Gajeel came crashing down in a heap, right where the two had been laying.

Gildarts' hand slammed on the ground, sending hundred of splinters and broken floorboards (and the suddenly screaming Iron Slayer) flying across the guild and into the bar. And through it all, his lips never left Lucy's.

For the first time in years, he felt like he was a kid again. It wasn't the thrill of being with a new woman, but the contentment and bone-churning joy that came from being with someone he truly cared about. He'd come to love Lucy in the two years they'd been together on that mission, first as a good friend and guild mate and then as something a whole lot more. But not once had he tried to make a move. She'd figured it out, of course, but he knew for a fact that the blonde was happier that he hadn't tried to push her to move on from Cobra just to be with him.

In fact, it was _his_ fault (not the Poison Slayer's) that Lucy had waited even longer just to make a move and show that she really was over him. Gildarts had loved her, but he didn't want to be a broken-hearted rebound. Because he knew, with every inch of his old soul, that Lucy would be it for him if she just gave him the chance.

She'd taken away the loneliness that no one else had ever thought to look for. Lucy had seen it somehow, maybe without even realizing just what it was, and she'd helped him. And even though their mission had been his idea, simply offering her a way to escape for a little while and sort herself out, along the way Lucy had made him feel whole again.

He didn't care about his missing arm and leg as much. When she saw him without the heavy metal prosthetics, he didn't feel like any less of a man. And he didn't have to keep a silly grin and barrels of laughs at the ready when it was just them. She'd seen him cry and she'd seen him angry enough to make a chair explode (on accident, of course). Lucy had eased his pain, and brought back something he'd never realized was missing.

She brought back his happiness. His real joy in life. Her brilliant smile and that little snorting laugh she did when hearing something that was far too funny for her to control herself had lightened the burden on his heart.

He knew though, for as long as she would let him, Gildarts would be by her side.

"I love you, Gil," Lucy whispered, drawing back from his lips just enough to breathe again.

"I love you too, Princess," he chuckled, slowly sitting up and pulling the blonde along with him as he stood. She instantly tucked herself into his side and they moved as one, dodging flying mages and debris, while walking toward the bar.

Cana, for once, had gotten involved in the fight, so Lucy took her seat once again and Gildarts sat just next to her. She looked at Cobra on her other side, and gave him a soft smile when he slid two strawberry smoothies toward her and Gildarts.

"Free drinks for the happy couple," Cobra whispered. "I'm happy for you, Bright Eyes."

She gently held his hand for a moment, letting her soul sing its happiest song at the return of her decade-old nickname, from the time when they'd been the best of friends.

She knew that things would never be the same as they'd once been with Cobra - or Erik, now - but as she let go of his hand and laced her fingers with Gildarts', Lucy knew that it was something she was perfectly fine with. One day, she and Erik would be friends again. And who knew… maybe she could convince him to be her "Man of Honor" if she ever got married.

The Poison Slayer's eye twinkled with mirth while he glanced at Lucy. "You say the word, and I'll be there," he chuckled. "In a fucking tux… stop picturing my ass in a dress… Goddamnit, I hate you."

"You know you missed it," she giggled.

He nodded, but didn't say anything more. Instead, Cobra just let himself watch his old friend out of the corner of his eye with the man she really should have been with all along. He was happy for her though, and based on the way Lucy and Gildarts' souls were singing, the love they had for one another was going to last them a lifetime.

* * *

 _ **.The End.**_

* * *

 **I hope you all enjoyed this. The story is now complete.**

 **Shoutout to** _ **KrispiKreme**_ **, for the robot/human joke. I'd thought something similar before writing this story, and completely forgot about it until I read your review. Of course, it had to make its way in here.**


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